Wild Star
by XMissxHallawayX
Summary: A Hermione/Legolas story. When Hermione's history proved to be false, how will it change her experiences? Also included; Harry/Ginny, Ron/Luna, Aragorn/Arwen. Rated T for situations and mild language.
1. A New Plan

Never before had Hermione felt so lost.

It had only been three days ago when, upon finding an envelope addressed to her in Professor Dumbledore's desk, she had set to reading all she could find about the place the letter mentioned, this Middle-earth. The only things she could find were vague references to the place in songs which had no date, and in a single history book in the Hogwarts Library. It said that the world was parallel to the one she herself walked this day, and could only be entered with a complex spell and a charm from the other realm.

In the envelope, in addition to the three-page letter, there sat a pendant of the purest silver, which Hermione now wore around her neck. Its shape reminded her of the stars as they would gleam in the night sky.

Finally, she closed her notebook, in which she had recorded the songs she had found, paragraphs copied from the history book, and footnotes of her own, tucking it away in a pocket before finding Harry, Ron, and Ginny, lounging solemnly in the Gryffindor common room.

"The three of you," she said, her voice stern, "get up."

They stood, each anxious. Ron, however, was distracted by Hermione's outfit.

"What the bloody hell are you wearing?" he said, eyebrows furrowing.

The gown was a very pale blue, made of an unidentifiable fabric, with flowing pale lavender sleeves and beaded trim, the end of the skirt trailing behind her.

"This was on my bed when I got up there, and the letter specifically said to put it on, and to tell the three of you to head upstairs; each of you will find something suited to the dress's time upon your beds." Hermione offered a glowing smile. "We'll need to leave the common room soon; Luna is to meet us."

The three of them shrugged and stalked off up the stairs.

Ginny was the first to walk down, holding her skirt up so she would not trip on it. The pale green gown was well-cut and draped over her frame like it was made for her alone. The bodice, though short, was beaded and glittered like pearl. The pair looked each other over, then up at the boys' staircase as a loud noise alerted them that Ron, at least, was coming of the boys wore clothes that looked far more out of place than the girls' did. They each wore a sword on one hip in addition to the odd clothes, for which Hermione really had no name.

Harry was first to speak: "Hermione, are you going to explain this?" he said, looking over his girlfriend with appraising eyes.

"These outfits need little explanation. Dumbledore left them for us, for them to appear upon the moment of his death. This letter," she held up the envelope, "explains that, in the event of his passing, we are to speak the incantation while standing in a circle with our arms linked. He said that another world would have need of us.""Why?" Ron asked."He did not explain; he simply left me this letter." She laid it out on the table. It read;

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><p><em>Hermione,<em>

_No doubt you are wondering why I have left this note for you to find in my desk. I am the only one who knows of what may happen._

_The charm enclosed, the three gowns, and the two outfits are all relics of another world, called Middle-earth. A world populated with Men, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, and Orcs, it is much like our own Middle Ages. Find yourselves wary, though; you will be percieved as strange beings._

_The five to take this journey are; Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ginevra Weasley, Ronald Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. Find each other in my office. She will have a note to read with her gown._

_Also enclosed in this envelope are five folded pieces of parchment, each with two names, one on the outside, the other inside. These are your names in this world._

_I know you will search for more information before departure, but I must offer a few words of warning. This spell can only be used twice, from our world to theirs, and should you find yourselves slain in that world, expect it to seem as only a dream, and find yourself in your own bed as if waking from a night's good sleep._

_Unless you find yourselves seperated, the first person you should seek is Lord Elrond of Rivendell; give him the oddly-addressed envelope within this, and he will understand. Should you be seperated, seek first Gandalf the Grey, for he will tell you of the welfare of the others._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore._

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><p>Hermione folded up the note, sliding it back into the envelope before they left the Gryffindor common room for Dumbledore's was waiting for them, wearing a gown of a richer blue tone. Hermione grinned and handed out the five pieces of parchment. Ron opened his, gave a confused look, and handed it back.<p>

With a laugh, she said, "Your name is Rothrandir. Its meaning is...copper-haired wanderer! How perfect."

Ginny handed hers over. "Rosmir," she smiled. "Copper-haired jewel. No hiding that you two are related."

Luna's face was slightly screwed up as she contemplated her own new name. "Lothrendis?" Hermione gently took it and nodded. The brunette continued, "It means flowered wanderer. Hmm.

"Harry was bewildered as he handed his paper over. "Hitharn, which means royal mist. Not sure why he picked that."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "And what's yours?"

Hermione opened her parchment. It was folded more than the others. It read;

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><p><em>May you find the name Hísiven Rhovanel to your liking. It should fit you better than Hermione Jean Granger. Lord Elrond will be able to explain this to you. Hísiven means Maiden of Mists, and Rhovanel means Wild Star, and the trinket you wear links you closely to this name and to the elves.<em>

_Tell your four companions this. The swords, nor your wands, are to be used lightly. Magic is of a different nature in the world I send you to. Your magic and theirs are different, and your magic will alter itself to match theirs. The three women will find their appearances altering to match the Elves. Ron, Harry; expect your hair to be grown beyond your chins upon arrival._

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><p>"My name is Hísiven Rhovanel," she said, before reading the paragraph aloud.<p>

The five linked arms. Hermione looked over the paper before tucking the letter back into the envelope and hiding it in her dress. She then recited;

_"Alcarin Menelya, entluesse lomion, emerwen, macarril, elerinna silwen, ar cultarcil. Ortanlumbule nin."_

She chanted the words, closing her eyes. It felt like she was being pulled through a curtain crafted of knives; a scream emitted from her lips as she felt her friends ripped from her, all but one. Upon landing, she looked over at Ginny - Rosmir, she corrected. Best start thinking of her by that name. A hand touched the top of her own head. She bled. Her eyes were open long enough to see a woman with long black hair bending over her.**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>The names are already defined. Easy enough. The incantation roughly leads out to this; Glorious autumn day, the return of the son of twilight, the sheperdess, the swordsman of flame, the star-crowned white elf, and the golden red royal one. Lift up the darkness for me. Each title references one of the five travelers.<strong>**_  
><em>**


	2. A New Place

**I know this one's short. I was having problems with my muse for chapter 2. Plus, I was fighting a headache. Not really the best combination. Hope you like it as much as I do!**

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><p>Arwen called out to her father. He hurried over, touching the blood flowing from the golden-brunette's temples.<p>

"Arwen, gather four strong men; we need to get these two inside," Lord Elrond said, gently turning the one who bled onto her back, only to freeze as he touched her cheek. "Hisiven, my child. Welcome home."

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><p>Three days later, Hermione sat up, her left hand flying to her temple to feel for blood. Her skin was clean and unbroken. The dark-haired woman who had saved her, she believed, stood beside her, hands folded over her dress.<p>

"Good morning, Hisiven. I am Arwen," she said, slowly sitting down next to her.

"How did you know my name, Arwen?"

"My father knows you, he says. He left a note for you." She motioned to the table beside her, where a folded piece of paper lay. "He will want to know you have awakened. What is your red-haired companion's name?"

Hermione almost answered with Ginny, but knew that would get them nowhere. "Her name is Rosmir. How is she?"

"She is mending, Hisiven. Soon she will awaken."

"Is there someone by the name of Gandalf the Grey in this place? Where am I, anyway?" Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear, marveling at its now pointed shape.

"He arrived yesterday. Would you like to speak to him?"

"Yes, please. I have a question for him."

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><p>Gandalf came in only a moment later, and Hermione forced herself not to call him Dumbledore as she greeted him.<p>

"Hisiven Rhovanel, the Wild Star of the Elves. The whispers on the wind were true. You have returned home," he said, taking a seat in a chair not far from the bed.

"Gandalf...where are my other companions?" She closed her eyes to remember their new names. "Rothrandir, Lothrendis, and Hitharn?"

"Lothrendis, I hear, is safe in Mirkwood. The two men, Rothrandir and Hitharn, find themselves in Minas Tirith." The elderly man smiled at her. "I am sure you have other questions."

Hermione closed her eyes and tipped her head back. "Where am I?"

"You are in Rivendell, in the House of Elrond. Your father. He is pleased you have returned to him. It was many years ago that he sent you to a place you would feel more accepted, or perhaps would learn more about yourself. He removed all of your memories and altered your appearance to look like that of a human woman. You were young then. You are his younger daughter; Arwen is his other child," he said, nodding slightly.

Hermione nodded, smiling. "Thank you for telling me."

Outside, she heard a loud ruckus and pushed her blankets away, finding that she wore the same sky-blue dress as she stood up, walking to the balcony. A golden-haired elf man was shouting, a darker-haired, elder man was trying to soothe him, and Arwen was helping a small, childlike figure off of a white horse.

"If you would excuse me, Hisiven. My presence is required elsewhere." Hermione nodded, glancing after the old one as he closed her door.

_It would seem the small one in the party is injured_, she thought as she turned away from the balcony. A silvery dress, much like the one Ginny had worn upon departure, was lain over a chair in the corner. It took her only a minute to change from the blue into the silver. A full-length mirror stood near; she positioned herself in front of it. She felt at home, finally, now that she watched her every move in the mirror.

"I am home," she muttered, walking out of the room.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	3. A New Life

**This is where information from the wiki of Lord of the Rings comes in handy. Arwen is in Rivendell. This is the only part that actually follows the books, because I couldn't re-write the first two chapters. Glorfindel is in the books, but only a little in the films.**

**When I read the book - or, what I got through of it - I kept thinking it was Legolas who saved Frodo. Thank you, writers of the wiki for Lord of the Rings, for telling me otherwise!**

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><p>Hermione walked down the hallway just in time to see Arwen and the elder man of their group duck into a room; the golden-haired remained by the door.<p>

"Hisiven Rhovanel. The stars were singing of your return these past days," the man said. "I am Glorfindel."

"A pleasure to meet you," she said, tipping her head. It fitted the setting.

At the sound of her voice, the dark-haired man emerged from the room Glorfindel stood beside. His blue eyes were full of wonder.

"Hisiven. It is so good to have you home," he said, smiling.

Hermione said nothing, only smiling in reply. Glofindel asked the dark-haired man a question in a language Hermione identified as the same as the one she had spoken to bring herself and her friends to this place; the elder man answered in kind.

"Hisiven...I am Lord Elrond, your father. You must be confused...your friend, Rosmir, as Arwen tells me her name is, should wake within the hour," he said, pulling her to him. "I cannot explain how much I have missed you."

"Explain to me, then, why you sent me away."

He motioned for her to walk with him, placing a hand on her back. "Hisiven. I knew it was too dangerous for you to remain here, in the land of your birth. I sent you away for that very reason." He stopped, placing his hands on her shoulders now. "Hisiven, I am sorry. I never meant for you to return to such a dangerous time."

A woman with long silvery hair, wearing a pale blue gown that swirled on the floor, came up to them just then.

"Lord Elrond, the other maiden awakes," she said, sounding a bit breathless.

Without a word, he led Hermione down the hall. She had to hold the skirt of her gown up in order to avoid tripping.

Ginny was sitting up in bed, drinking a large glass of water. An elf-woman stood nearby, this one with long, dark brown hair and wide, pale green eyes and holding a pitcher, presumably full of water.

"Hey, Gi-Rosmir," Hermione said, easing herself onto the bed with a faint smile, blushing just a little. The Weasley girl was incredibly beautiful, her brown eyes flecked with gold, her hair pulled back with a white ribbon to show her now-tipped ears, and a smile on her face.

Elrond silently sent the elf-maiden from the room; she left behind her water-pitcher. And then he spoke.

"Hisiven...Rosmir...speak freely. Tell me what these years have been for you," he said, sitting in an armchair.

Hermione began. "Well...I'm almost eighteen...I think. That's how old I am there. My name there...is Hermione Jean Granger. The year I turned twelve...I started school. I met Harry and Ron - Hitharn and Rothrandir, as you might come to know them. Ron and I thought we hated each other..."

She continued her story while Lord Elrond fidgeted and grimaced and Ginny lay back, watching everything her best friend did.

"So...Lothrendis is our friend Luna Lovegood. Rosmir's name is Ginny. Her full name is incredibly embarrassing. The gowns we arrived in are those left to us upon the death of our school headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. And...that's everything."

Lord Elrond shook himself, while Ginny sat up a bit straighter.

"Your eyes are blue," she said.

Hermione tilted her head, then walked to the wall mirror in Ginny's room. Sure enough, upon close inspection, her dark brown eyes were indeed now as clear as Veritaserum and bluer than the sky.

What an odd color, she thought. Ah, well. Luna was probably having a great time where she was - Mirkwood just sounded like the sort of place she'd fit right in.

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><p>Three days after their arrival in Rivendell, Hermione took a long walk and found herself on the bank of a wide river. This felt familiar to her, though she could not have been here before. Wearing the same blue dress she had worn upon arrival, she lowered herself to the pebbled bank and picked up a smooth, flat stone, skipping it across the expanse of the river. The sound it made seemed to echo all around as it plunked under the water.<p>

"I see you have found the edge of the city," came a voice from behind her. She didn't have to turn to know that it was Arwen.

"I was walking, and heard the water. Thought it might be a nice place to relax," she said, smoothing the long skirt.

The sisters talked idly, while Hermione skipped a few more flat stones across the water, and were surprised after only a few moments by a group of four emerging from the trees across the river, one of average height, the other three of equal height to the one brought into Rivendell by the elf-man named Glorfindel. The man recognized Arwen, but the other three seemed confused.

"Hisiven, find Father. He will want to know that Aragorn has arrived, with three of Frodo's companions in tow," Arwen said, standing. Hermione followed her movement and hurried into the city.

Hermione found herself almost running through the city, sleeves and skirt billowing, and in her hurry she found herself slamming into a door as it was opened by Lord Elrond, and fell back with a shout, holding her nose.

"Hiiven, I am so sorry; what is your hurry?" he said, carefully helping her up.

"I've just come from the river," she said, catching her breath. "Arwen...recognized one of a group of four across. Said to tell you that...Aragorn has arrived, with three of Frodo's companions."

He nodded, then told her in a soft voice, "Rosmir is asking for you."

Hermione nodded, lifting her skirts as she hurried.

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><p>Ginny had a sad look in her eyes.<p>

"Ginny, what is wrong?" Hermione said, sitting on the bed beside the girl.

"Lord Elrond told me what the people of Gondor do to uninvited guests, especially to those who seem to have appeared from nothing," the redhead whispered, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip.

"I'm sure Harry and Ron escaped, and if they did not, then they wait for us between the worlds. Be strong, Ginny," the brunette said, putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "We know Luna's all right; Lord Elrond informed the ruler of Mirkwood not to harm her, and to send her alongside whoever he chooses."

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	4. Reunions and Sorrow

**Chapter four! Wooot! I hope no one's mad at me.**

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><p>It was not much later in the day that Hermione, in another of her explorations, came across something she'd never expect. She could feel that she was at the edge of Rivendell, and just beyond her lay a young man with long, dark hair. He looked weak and starved, but there was something familiar about him.<p>

And then she realized.

"Harry!" she cried, crossing the bounds to turn him over. His face was covered in bruises, but he was alive. She drew her wand and muttered an incantation. Almost in an instant, two silver otters materialized and swam in different directions, through the air, in Rivendell.

In a moment of afterthought, she sent a third, to follow the first.

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><p>Ginny was sitting up, reading a book Hermione had provided for her, when the otter came through her window.<p>

"Hitharn is alive," it said, in Hermione's voice. "I am at the eastern edge of the city, just past the border. Hurry; he is in need of healing, and I do not believe he can enter the city on his own."

She almost threw the book, but placed her bookmark between its pages and set it aside gently before throwing her blankets off and running to her window just as a second otter arrived.

"Ginny, this is to you alone. I believe his problem entering the city is due to his scar, and his already ill look from his time in Gondor," this otter said. "I am doing my best."

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><p>Arwen sat with Frodo, keeping an eye on him, when she recieved the other otter. At first, her expression told of wonder. Then she understood the seriousness of what the message gave.<p>

Gandalf was entering the room at that moment. Arwen placed a hand on his arm and set off, running to find her father. When she found him, she told him what was happening, and he beckoned her to follow, motioning for two others to join them.

Hermione sat with Harry, trying to wake him, but nothing would succeed. And then her father and sister came to gather him. She stood, dusting herself off, as Elrond and the two other elves carried him across the border.

"Hitharn looks to be a strong man; what would prevent him from entering our city?" Arwen said.

"You ask too many questions, sister. I cannot tell you all of it just now; I can only say that it is a tale for another time, and that he would be completely unaware of the evil in him," Hermione said.

The sisters entered the city, each with a faint smile on her face. But Hermione's gaze was troubled.

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><p>Ginny watched as the two elf-men carried Harry in on a stretcher. He looked so different than he had just a few days previously, with his black hair around his chin, his glasses broken, and dirt all over his face. The outfit he wore was the very one he had worn upon departure from Hogwarts.<p>

"Oh, Harry...what happened to you? Where's my brother?" the redhead muttered to herself, moving back to her bed.

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><p><strong>Yes. Ron is dead. All will be explained in chapter 5. Please review!<strong>


	5. New Arrivals

**Here we go! Chapter five. I am so wicked...**

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><p>Hermione and Ginny did not leave Harry's side until he awoke, just five hours after his arrival. Ginny found herself smiling for the first time in a long while.<p>

"Ginny," Harry said, his voice quiet and weak.

"Do not speak, Hitharn," Hermione said, indicating that they were not alone. Arwen stood in the corner. The girl poured him a glass of water, handing it to him carefully. "Finding you was quite a surprise; I had heard you were in Minas Tirith, in the kingdom of Gondor."

"I was," he said, taking a drink. "They...they killed him." He reached out his hand to Ginny. "I couldn't get him away from them in time."

Ginny gave a soft gasp, and Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder. It was for two purposes. The first was comfort; she had never done anything without knowing her older brother would help her. The second was restraint; Hermione knew that the redhead would be very angry. Angry enough to attempt a destruction of the city.

"Rothrandir would not want us to be so focused upon his death that we can find nothing to ease the pain. We have some things to do," Hermione said.

"Hisiven, Father would like to speak to you, now that he is awake," Arwen said. "Rosmir can watch over Hitharn."

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><p>Elrond stood in a courtyard near the bridge leading into the main part of the city. A group of four riders, all with gleaming, light-colored hair.<p>

"Our visitors from Mirkwood are arriving," Elrond said.

"Lothrendis," Hermione whispered, smiling. Luna had come.

The first to dismount was a lithe, tall elf-man with a quiver strapped to his back. The others followed him, but he began speaking to Elrond in the same language Hermione heard around the city. One, after a few short moments, came around and embraced Hermione.

"Luna," she whispered, hugging the blonde tightly.

"Hermione." She pulled away and smiled. "I trust you have been all right these past days?"

Hermione laughed.

"Hisiven Rhovanel, this is Legolas," Luna said with a grin, placing a hand very lightly on the elf-man's arm.

"Lothrendis, is the introduction needed?" he said.

"It is, Legolas. I told you; she's been away for a very long while and would not remember you," Luna replied, lifting her hand.

Arwen leaned close to Hermione. "It is tradition that the Wild Star is closely associated with the Prince of Mirkwood. You knew each other once; we do not expect you to remember those days."

But Hermione did remember. It was a vague, dim memory, but she recognized the man's blue, blue eyes and the odd, mystic air about him. He belonged to the forest. And then, there were the dreams.

Ever since she could remember, she'd been plagued - or perhaps blessed - with dreams of a tall, blonde man, who now stood before her. He was always gentle and kind with her, and each morning when she woke, she found herself saddened. Disappointed.

"It is such a joy to see what a beauty you have grown to be, Hisiven, and to find you again," Legolas said, smiling brightly.

"Such flattery is unnecssary," she said softly, inclining her head just a little. It felt proper.

The two shared a moment more, before Hermione pulled Luna away from everyone else, saying she needed to catch up with her friend. And she did need that.

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><p>"What is it like, to learn that you were never who you believed yourself to be?" Luna said.<p>

"It is a burden and a blessing," Hermione replied. "To find that there is a place I belonged to more than Hogwarts or anywhere else is a great gift, but to know that everyone lied to me for nearly eighteen years... That, Luna, is my burden."

The two were at the door to an unoccupied room between Hermione's and Ginny's. Hermione opened the door very slowly, looking around within. "I think this is to be your room...Lothrendis."

The brunette and the blonde shared a grin, and Luna entered the room. "Your hair's darker," the blonde said, "and your eyes are blue. I think you really do belong here."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she crossed Luna's room to the mirror. Her appearance had changed. A lot. Her skin was now a pearlescent white, her eyes shining softly and her hair almost as dark as Arwen's. Life in Rivendell was restoring her to her true beauty.


	6. Late Night Talks

**I can only hope I make you all happy with this! First chapter of Legolas and Hermione interacting without any interference.**

**The only thing I own here is the plot.**

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><p>Hermione awoke in the middle of the night. She rubbed her eyes and flung aside her bedding, pulling on a silken robe as she walked onto the balcony.<p>

"I hate nightmares.." she muttered, rubbing her eyes again as she looked up at the moon.

"Was it a nightmare, or a vision of the days to come?"

She spun around, holding her robe tight across her chest. "Legolas!" Exasparated, she walked back under the cover of the rooftop and slid a strand of hair behind her left ear. "I am no Seer," she muttered to herself.

"Your father can predict the future; it would not be too far-fetched for you to bear some of his talent," Legolas said, leaning against the wall. "What did you dream of?"

Hermione shook her head, her face already upset as she thought of it.

"Tell me, Hisiven" he said, smiling just a little.

"There was," she swallowed roughly, "so much death. Corpses littering a stone hall. A winged figure of flames and blackness. A collapsing staircase. Creatures for which I have no name." The dream had been fractured into a thousand pieces; nothing fit coherently. "It can't be a vision...can it?"

Legolas walked towards the girl. "I know not if it is a vision or simply a nightmare. I can only say that in the current state of our world, such a dream could, in fact, become reality." His hand clamped on her left shoulder. "I suggest you consult your father about this; it is possible he will know."

She nodded, turning to look at him.

"You always looked so beautiful under the moonlight, even when you were just a baby," he said very softly.

"If it isn't too personal a question...how old are you? For that matter, how old am I? I hear talk of time rifts between the worlds."

"You are near seven-hundred years of age, by this world's time. Lord Elrond tells me that, in the other world, the one you, Rosmir, Lothrandis, and Hitharn travelled from, you are not even eighteen; but I will always count your age by this world," he said. "I myself am five years past seven-hundred. I was fourteen when you were born." His eyes, on hers since she'd turned, flicked down to the diamond pendant she wore. "I was the one who noticed the Wild Star pendant's glow return."

Hermione blushed, feeling her right ear, marvelling again at its pointed shape. "I've been asking a lot of people for that information; no one would tell me. Thank you," she said, smiling just a little as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Legolas seated himself beside her.

"I am unsurprised; they would expect you to remember things like that," he said softly. "Would you like to know more?" Hermione nodded. "Well, then. Father would not leave home to meet you. We only discovered that you were in Rivendell after your father, so happy he was, sent many riders bearing the news across the land.

"I came with two others, a pair of friends, the same two I arrived here with today. They were surprised by my choice to bring the Wild Star with me; they feared I would be wrong, and so would be disappointed. They were wrong about that," he said, smiling. "I met you for the first time when you were just three weeks of age. It was a full moon...I remember that clearly. Your skin gleamed like pearl. Your blue eyes glowed like Ithildin under the moon's influence.

"Everyone was so happy. I didn't want to ruin that happiness, so before we left, I wrote a note to your father, telling him who I believed you were, and put the necklace with it," he said. "When I gave it to him, he told me your name. Hisiven...Maiden of Mist. It is fitting; you were lost to time, to the Mist, for so long, we were all afraid. And then the stars began to sing of your return to this realm. It is good to have you here again."

Hermione blushed, putting a hand over her mouth for a second before she said, "It feels good to be here. We left the other world wondering what it'd be like to come here. I feel like I'm home now."

"Because this is where you were meant to be, Hisiven," he said, placing a fingertip under her chin. "Tell me what it was like."

"Well...it was stressful, to say the least. Since I didn't know this about myself, everyone thought I was your average Muggle-born witch - a witch born to non-magical parents. Some people thought I was worthless; just a piece of trash that didn't deserve to walk the halls of the school." She rubbed her eyes. "There was one boy in particular, an egomaniac named Draco Malfoy. He was the worst, and probably still will be, because I'm going to have to go back there...

"The first two friends I found were Harry and Ron. Harry's here, under the name of Hitharn. Ginny and Luna came to the school a year later. Rosmir and Lothrandis are their...local...names. I didn't meet Luna until three years later, though. Ron and I actually hated each other at the start." She laughs, letting herself fall back, hands under her head.

"The year I met Luna, we had the worst teacher ever join the school. She just wanted us to read and not practice, not have preparation for what was out there. What still is out there. An entity almost as cruel as the villainous force here. He wants to make Muggles the slaves of the magical world. He feels nothing. His soul is, literally, in pieces, and the parts that are no longer an actual part of him are encased in these other things. Simple things, like a diary, a ring, a locket...and maybe one snake." She smiles, blushing a little.

Legolas laid back beside her, watching her expressions. "Why a snake?" he asked.

"The snake, Nagini, is something of a pet of his. I've never seen it myself, but Harry has," she muttered, rubbing a hand over her face.

The two laid there, talking about Hermione's school years until about an hour before dawn, when Legolas excused himself from her company. She sat up, letting him walk away, before walking over to the mirror. The diamonds really _did_ glow. She hadn't noticed it before. It was pretty, and made her seem more like some ethereal being.

It made her believe she truly belonged here.

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><p><strong>Let's see how many people figure out the nightmare. .<strong>


	7. Council Meeting

**This chapter contains the Council of Elrond nearly verbatim with the first theatrical release of the film. Almost all the dialogue in that part is copyrighted to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. You'll know when it splits off.**

**This may be the longest chapter in Wild Star. Just a warning.**

**-xHx**

* * *

><p>Hermione was actually in a good mood again. Her father had informed her that she, Luna, and Ginny would be attending a council to decide the fate of this world. They would be the only three women in attendance. Ginny was left a little worried by this information, but it really didn't matter; nothing could dampen Hermione's spirits. She'd been dancing a lot more than she had before their departure from Hogwarts.<p>

Two of the Hobbits who had arrived alongside Aragorn had befriended the three young ladies. Merry and Pippin were quite taken with them, but Sam, shy as he was, would only talk to Luna. Of course, when the three Hobbits heard about the meeting, they were curious and anxious all at once. Apparently, their friend, the one who'd been brought into Rivendell before them, had been summoned to this meeting, too.

"You know, I have no clue why we were the only women invited to this meeting," Ginny said, combing through her hair. The redhead had been given a gown with a square-type neckline, a V-shape cut down in the center. It was a purplish-red color with silver and white beading on the empire-waisted body. As soon as she was satisfied with her hair, she placed the silver circlet on her browline, its sapphire cabochon at the center of her forhead. They'd each been given a new gown and a circlet, things Lord Elrond had had made for them.

"Because this world is filled with chauvanistic pigs who think that women are too weak to do anything more than wait at home and be left out of all world-changing decisions," Hermione said, adjusting the silver-and-ruby circlet on her brow. Her gown was made of rich black satin, with gold-and-red trim on the V-neck, underbust, and the tightening of the sleeves at her elbow.

"Sam's not like that at all," Luna said in that dreamy voice of hers. She was already dressed, the intricate silver-and-moonstone circlet just below her hairline. Her gown was ivory satin with glittering, diamond-like beads over the bodice and flowing sleeves.

"We know that, Luna," Ginny said. "None of the Hobbits are like that. Not even Bilbo."

"You went and talked to Bilbo?"

"Of course, Hermione; why wouldn't I? He's very insightful."

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><p>Hermione had to admit, her father had some very interesting friends. As she sat down at the edge of the semi-circle formed of so many chairs, she felt a little intimidated. Eighteen men, including the dark-haired elf next to her father's chair; he reminded her a little of Rita Skeeter, with his sharp gaze. Everyone seemed a bit unreasonably anxious at her presence.<p>

While her father greeted everyone, though not directly by name, she watched the faces of those gathered. Aragorn and Legolas shared a glance as she watched them. Both looked anxious for other reasons. Another man, this one with red hair, seemed too confident, in her opinion.

"Bring forth the ring, Frodo."

At her father's words, she looked at the Hobbit, watching his every move as he placed a small golden band upon the stone in the center of the semi-circle. Then her eyes returned to the red-haired man.

"So it is true," he said. The ring began to whisper. She narrowed her eyes, looking at it. "It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You cannot wield it," Aragorn stated "None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"

Ginny almost stood up; her right hand was halfway up the sleeve of her dress. Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering in her ear, "Don't give us away, Gin. It would not be wise." The redhead nodded, folding her hands on her lap, while her expression remained angry.

"This is no mere Ranger," Legolas said, jumping out of his seat. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

The three girls looked at each other, eyebrows now raised. Arwen had said nothing of this. Aragorn said something to Legolas in Elvish, though which dialect Hermione couldn't discern, and their attention was grabbed once more.

"Gondor has no king," the red-haired man said. "Gondor needs no king."

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it," Gandalf said.

Lord Elrond stated then, "You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed."

A red-haired Dwarf stood up then, shouting, "Then what are we waiting for?" He picked up an axe and swung at the ring. A loud crash, and the Dwarf fell to his back, the axe destroyed.

"The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess," Lord Elrond said.

Hermione laughed softly, leaning forward now to speak. "This sounds too familiar. I spent a day, before I came hear, reading about objects it is nearly impossible to destroy. Only a very small number of things could destroy them."

"What would a woman know of battle?" the red-haired man said. "What business would a woman have with this council? What help can three women give?"

"Boromir, I would advise against that," Gandalf said. He looked a bit nervous, a bit worried

"What can they do to me?" Boromir said.

Just then, Ginny, Luna, and Hermione stood up, pulling their wands from the sleeves of their gowns, pointing them all at Boromir. Ginny's was aimed for his face, probably considering her specialty; the Bat-Bogey Hex. Luna's was aimed for his feet; lately she had shown preference for the Jelly-Legs Jinx. Hermione's wand, however, was aimed for his chest. She had only one idea in mind. The Full Body-Bind Curse.

Boromir spent only a second contemplating their statures, before he started to sit down. "Women are useless in battle," he muttered.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione yelled, flourishing her wand very little. But that was all it took. Boromir went rigid as a plank and fell flat on his face. Hermione gave a smug smile and lowered her wand.

Everyone else was glancing, wide-eyed, between Boromir's frozen form and Hermione's smug expression. They knew now why these women had been allowed into the council. They were dangerous.

After about three minutes, Hermione glanced at her father. "I think he's learned not to mouth off about women in front of me, Father; don't you?" He nodded, and she lifted the enchantment.

Boromir stood up, shaking like a leaf as he dusted off his clothing and sat back down in his chair.

"As I was saying; these objects could be destroyed by a small number of things. Animalistic flames conjured by a dark spell one of them; the venom of a basilisk snake is another," Hermione said. "The first, I refuse to bring about, for the flames are untameable. The second, I have no access to."

"Then why bring it up?" Gandalf said.

"It felt pertinent."

Lord Elrond shook his head at his daughter's logic before continuing. "The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. The ring must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this."

"One does not simply walk into Mordor." Boromir said. "Its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten-thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The ring must be destroyed!" Legolas seemed a little too eager to yell at Boromir.

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?" Gimli said.

"And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli had stood up again. His words set aflame the dry kindling of the Elves' tempers. "Never trust an Elf!" Luna jumped into the arguement, which was surprising, for she usually avoided verbal conflict. Hermione was certain she was looking for Boromir as she got lost in the crowd, so she could punch him. Luna was surprisingly violent.

"I will take it," came a voice from across the circle. Hermione just barely heard him over the ruckus, but it seemed to be the second time he'd said it. "I will take the Ring to Mordor." It was Frodo who spoke.

The crowd dispersed, and Boromir could be seen rubbing his cheek as Luna returned to her seat. The brunette and the blonde shared a brief conspiritorial glance.

"Though," Frodo continued, "I do not know the way."

Gandalf walked over to him. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins," he said, "as long as it is yours to bear."

"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will," Aragorn said. He, too, approached Frodo. "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow," Legolas said, crossing toward the group.

"And my axe," Gimli added. Legolas looked a bit disgruntled that the Dwarf would be going along.

The three witches stood, walking to Frodo. Hermione spoke. "You have taken upon your shoulders a great quest; if my father will allow it, you will have our magic and strength at your side."

Gandalf rolled his eyes. Frodo looked happy. Aragorn seemed pleased. Gimli's expression was just as disgruntled as Legolas's had been a moment ago. And Legolas was smiling, though only a little.

"You carry the fates of us all, little one," Boromir said. "If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

There came a shout from the foliage behind Frodo, and Samwise Gamgee came running into the group. "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me," he said, folding his arms.

"No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not," Lord Elrond said, looking oddly smug.

"Oi, we're coming too!" came another shout, this time from behind Lord Elrond. Hermione craned her neck to spot Merry and Pippin running from behind a pair of pillars. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us."

Lord Elrond did not look happy.

Pippin picked up where Merry left off. "Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of...mission. Quest. Thing."

"Well, that rules you out, Pip," Merry said. Ginny smacked him over the back of the head, leaving him rubbing where she'd connected.

"Twelve companions," Lord Elrond said. He now looked resigned. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great!" Pippin said. "Where are we going?" Though he'd obviously said it in a joking manner, everyone stared at him like he was an idiot. He was just very light-hearted.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna began picking out their weaponry. Hermione found a bow intricately crafted, just right for her. She smiled. Mr. Granger had kept his daughter in archery classes since her sixth birthday. He'd believed that it would come in handy for her, and now she knew it would. She tested the draw of the bow; it felt natural.<p>

"Think I look good?" Ginny said. Hermione glanced over; she held a short sword in her left hand and her wand in her right.

"It's not about looking good; it's about functionality. If you think you can fight with magic and a blade at the same time, it might work."

Ginny swung the sword twice, slashing her wand through the air with each movement. "Thank god I'm ambidextrous," she said.

"Did you tell Mr. Ollivander about that?" Hermione said, tilting her head to the side. She laid the bow aside, caressing it lightly as she picked up a pair of very long knives, slashing and t wisting them as she took a few steps.

Luna was holding a long, silvery sword, looking it over before taking a couple of experimental swings. Hermione ducked.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" she shouted before dissolving into laughter. Ginny followed suit, and then Luna was laughing, too.

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><p><strong>Please review! I'm offering cookies!<strong>


	8. Hide!

**Chapter Eight. All recognized dialogue belongs to the authors of the screenplay. Plot is mine. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna are J.K. Rowling's, I'm just borrowing them. Gandalf, Gimli, Boromir, Aragorn, Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Legolas are property of J.R.R. Tolkien. All actions from Hermione, Luna, and Ginny are my thoughts. Modifications to spells, mine also. First known modified spell - was planned from the beginning. Hope you like it.**

**- xHx**

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><p>Luna and Ginny sat upon a rock, watching Boromir sparring with Merry and Pippin. The pair had just finished their own exercises with Aragorn, but they both knew that Ginny would have a harder time of fighting with her short sword. Hermione and Legolas had, the entire way to this rocky hillside, discussed different tactics and eventualities, and now the brunette sat beside Frodo, watching the events unfold as well.<p>

"If anyone was to ask for my opinion," Gimli said, "which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way 'round." As he spoke, Hermione patted Frodo on the back, getting up and walking over to where he stood, and Gandalf sat. He continued, oblivious to her approach. She was getting good at this silent-walking thing. "Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome."

She could not explain it, but the thought of going through that place just gave her the chills.

"No, Gimli. I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice," Gandalf replied. Neither noticed her.

Legolas then walked behind her, his bow brushing across her back as he leapt onto a rock. She followed him, perching precariously beside him, though with far less grace and balance.

With a hand on her shoulder, he steadied her, his eyes fixed on a black shape on the horizon.

A commotion behind her from Boromir, Merry, and Pippin drew her gaze for just a moment. The three were tussling on the ground.

"What is that?" Sam said, forcing Hermione's attention back to the shape.

"Nothing," Gimli said very confidently. "It's just a wisp of cloud."

By this time, the tussle with the two Hobbits and the one Man had calmed, and Boromir was staring at the shape, too, as the three got up.

"It's moving fast," he said. She could identify the voices of each member of the group now. "Against the wind."

Legolas's hand tightened on her shoulder, not enough to cause pain, but enough that she could tell he was stressed.

"Crebain from Dunland!" he shouted to the rest.

"Hide! Take cover!" Aragorn shouted. Boromir said something as well. It was possible he was calling for Merry, or telling everyone to hurry.

Legolas led Hermione down into the brush, pulling her under a bush with him. She had no idea if Luna and Ginny had hidden; she was aware that Harry had given Ginny his Cloak of Invisibility, but would there have been enough time to cover with it? Would it work against these creatures? She knew not; Legolas had led her away from the rest of the group.

The creatures were birds; they flew over the hill very closely. Their plummage was pure black, and their cries like that of demonic ravens. Hermione watched as they passed overhead, circling before heading back the way they'd come.

As they all came out, Ginny and Luna swiftly tucked Harry's cloak into Hermione's beaded bag. With a sigh, she took it back from Ginny.

"Spies of Saruman," Gandalf said. "The passage South is being watched. We must take the Pass of Caradhras."

Gandalf pointed up at a snowy mountain above them. The three women shared a look that clearly said, "We're screwed." They were probably wearing the least layers of any of the Fellowship. Tights, tunics, skorts, and equipment. But, when it came to the last, Hermione was probably one of the least-burdened members. Just her bow, her quiver of red-fletched arrows, her twin knives which she had jokingly named Gred and Forge, her wand, and the beaded bag, which carried far more than it showed itself to.

* * *

><p>"When we get back," Ginny muttered to Hermione, "if I see even a single snowflake, I'm going to make it explode."<p>

The Fellowship trudged on across the snowy landscape. Luna's teeth were chattering; they could hear it from where she walked at the front of the line. They walked nearer the back, just in front of Boromir. They both tried to catch Frodo as he fell, but both tumbled into the snow. Hermione got up and turned around before Ginny, just as Boromir plucked the chain from the snow.

"Boromir," Aragorn called; he'd caught Frodo.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," Boromir said, lifting the Ring closer to eye level.

"Boromir, return the ring to Frodo," Hermione said. She tried to keep her voice conversational, but a little bit of acid spilled as she pointed her wand at his back.

"Such a little thing." It appeared he hadn't heard her.

"Boromir!" Aragorn shouted. Boromir's trance broke; he lowered the Ring a fraction. "Give the Ring to Frodo."

A tense minute was experienced by the company as they watched Boromir struggle to regain his composure, and then walk toward Frodo and Aragorn. Hermione's wand-tip never left its position of aim at his back.

"As you wish," he said. Frodo took the ring quickly from him. "I care not." Aragorn's expression, discernable from Hermione's distance, was upset. Boromir ruffled Frodo's hair before turning away.

* * *

><p>Further up the mountain pass, Legolas and Hermione walked over the snow, behind the rest of the group, who walked through a trench-like gap. Gandalf was at the front, carving out the path with his staff. Luna and Ginny were right behind him, widening it a bit further with their wands. It was cold and snow flew into her face, trying to hurt her, it seemed.<p>

She leaned closer into the mountain, watching Legolas as he walked ahead.

"There is a fell voice on the air," he said. She had to strain to hear him over the wailing winds, and as she did, she could hear it, too.

"It's Saruman!" Gandalf cried. A deluge of stone fell toward them as he said it.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn cried. "Gandalf, we must turn back!"

"No!" And Gandalf climbed up, chanting in reply to the voice.

Lightning struck the snow above; they all dove for the mountain wall as an avalanche fell toward them.

Silence fell over the mountain for a moment as the snow settled.

Hermione was second to make her way free; Legolas was first. Luna followed shortly after, and then, last to surface, was Ginny. She'd used a spell to make herself shoot like a bullet from a gun out of the snow. And she wasn't landing.

While Boromir, Aragorn, and Gimli argued, Hermione called to her friend, "What spell did you use?"

Ginny, with her wand lowered, called out a reply. "Ascendio!" Just saying it, though, with her wand in her hand, caused her to shoot another fifteen feet up.

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, then called, "Reverse the active word! Instead of up, down! Descend!"

She thought Ginny nodded, and then heard her call out, "Descendio!" This happened far faster than she had risen; she landed on top of the snow with a poof and a groan. Legolas helped the redhead to her feet.

"Let the Ring-bearer decide," Gandalf said. In their distraction with Ginny, they hadn't heard the choices. "Frodo?"

"We will go through the mines," Frodo said.

"So be it."


	9. Moria

**The entry scene for the Mines of Moria. I own none of the characters, some of the dialogue, and a bit of sick pleasure at Ginny agreeing with Boromir. I wish I did own these characters and the setting, because then I would be rich.**

**- xHx**

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><p>Hermione sat cross-legged in front of the gateway into Moria, staring at the lettering as though her glare would make it open. Or at least, it looked like that. She was deep in concentration, repeating the words Gandalf had translated aloud in her head with as many inflections as possible in the words.<p>

Ginny stood beside Merry and Pippin, turning a flat rock over in her hands a few times before leaning down and skimming it across the surface of the black water. When they saw her doing this, each picked up another flat rock, attempting to do the same. Neither one really succeeded.

Luna was deep in conversation with Gimli. From the sound of things, they were talking about the mines and what they were apparently like.

For all this, Hermione still could not shake the sense of foreboding the gleaming gate gave her. In all its beauty, it seemed to hold a secret from her. And then, of course, it felt like the way to open this door was staring her in the face, but she could not see it.

Legolas stood near her, but it was still a surprise when he touched her shoulder. She jumped.

"What are your thoughts?" he muttered to her.

"Well," she said, "it would make sense to put a riddle needing solving on the door. But I see no riddle."

"You mean like the Ravenclaw doorknocker?" Luna said, straightening up.

Hermione smacked her left hand to her forehead. "Exactly like that. Any thoughts, Lothrendis?" She waited a moment before adding, "This should be easy for me."

"I think you can't see it because it is so easy," Luna said. "Look at the phrasing again."

Hermione closed her eyes, running through the inflections. She chose one, and spoke aloud. "Speak -friend- and enter?"

Frodo caught on; he was less than a foot away from her and had heard her clearly. "What's the Elvish word for friend?" he asked, walking close to the door.

"_Mellon_," Gandalf replied. With a crack, the doors opened. It was dark within.

"_Lumos_," Hermione muttered, motioning for the others to walk ahead of her. Ginny entered just behind Gandalf. Luna walked beside the four Hobbits. Hermione was last, standing just behind the four.

If only to make matters worse, as she held her wand aloft she saw a scene ripped from her nightmare from a few days before the Council. Corpses filled with arrows, rotted down to skeletons, filled the entry hall.

"Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves," Gimli said. Apparently, he did not yet see what she saw with her wand-light. "Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone! This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!"

"This is no mine," Hermione said.

Boromir was on the same thought. "It's a tomb."

Everyone was suddenly in some form of panic. The Hobbits, and Luna, backed quickly away from a body at their feet. Hermione's eyes were wide as dinner-plates. Her dream had become real. She'd seen the future in her dream. Gimli was screaming in denial. Legolas, probably the least squeamish of the entire company, walked up and pulled an arrow from a body on the floor.

"Goblins," he said, tossing the arrow aside.

"Let's get out of here!" Ginny shouted, a hand clamped over her nose and mouth. The place had a kind of smell that was incredibly unpleasant. Like you'd expect from a morgue filled with year-old bodies.

Aragorn and Boromir drew their swords. Luna followed suit, extinguishing her wand and slipping it back into her belt with her other hand. Ginny held her wand high. Hermione, too, extinguished her wand and stowed it. She knew now what was coming next. Instead of drawing her bow, as she saw Legolas had, she pulled out her knives and faced the opposite direction.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir said. "We should never have come here."

"This is the only time I'm going to say it, but I agree with you, Boromir!" Ginny shouted.

Hermione was ready for the tentacle when it snapped out and grabbed Frodo by the ankle. She dove into action, slicing at the appendage. She was not alone in her efforts; Merry and Pippin were attempting to pull him away from the creature. Sam was calling for Aragorn, before joining her, hacking at the tentacle.

It finally fell away.

Hermione knew that wasn't it. She stood ready, knives raised, as a multitude of tentacles came at them. What she didn't expect was being grabbed around the waist by the creature, and being lifted high into the air, over the water.

She sliced wildly at the beast, but not at the tentacle that held her. Dropping into freezing water from this level would not be ideal. It would probably try and eat her.

Then she saw Frodo being held by his ankle just a few feet from her and heard the commotion below. The rest of the company was trying to save them.

She just kept muttering to herself, "Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down," but she gave up when she heard a growl. Glancing below her, she saw a face in the water. The face of the creature intent on making her its next meal. Frodo was probably dessert, unfortunately.

Boromir, Aragorn, and Luna were battling the tentacles on foot. Aragorn got Frodo free; Boromir caught him. Luna sliced the tentacle holding Hermione up; Aragorn caught her.

"Into the mines!"

"Legolas!"

"Into the cave!"

She was pulled through the doorway by Aragorn, past Legolas, who was firing arrows at the beast like mad. He looked angry enough to kill it.

"Run!"

The beast ripped at the stone wall. The stone rumbled and gave way. It collapsed behind them.

"We now have but one choice," Gandalf said. As a little light appeared from his staff, the three girls drew their wands and lit the tips, holding them aloft again. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world."

The company began to walk as Gandalf spoke. Hermione walked alongside Legolas.

"I have a very bad feeling about this place," she muttered.

"Understandably," he replied.

"No; my dream, Legolas. We've already lived through part of it."

He showed no surprise, only leaning close to whisper, "Don't let them hear of that."


	10. Peanut Butter

**I do not own the characters. I do own the situation. I do not own the poem Peanut-Butter Sandwich - that belongs to Shel Silverstein.**

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><p>Boromir's assessment had proved far more accurate than Hermione would have thought. As the group lounged, waiting for Gandalf to remember what their path would be, Ginny, Luna, and Hermione were digging in the beaded bag.<p>

"Hah! Yes!" Hermione's voice was soft, but triumphant. She pulled out a jar of peanut butter and three spoons, handing Ginny and Luna each one before unscrewing the cap and scooping a large portion for herself. Both redhead and blonde followed suit. Sam watched them closely as they set to work cleaning the spoons with their tongues.

"Miss Luna," he said; the Hobbits preferred their other-world names to the Elvish ones, which were, admittedly, a mouthful, "what is that?"

"It's called peanut butter; would you like some?" Luna replied, pulling another spoon from Hermione's bag and scooping a small amount of the creamy spread before handing it over to him. She didn't even wait for an answer.

Sam took the spoon, regarding it with a curious expression, before he tasted the substance. A smile lit up his face, and he stuck the spoon in his mouth.

"It's good, but very sticky. Be careful how much you take in; you never know what might happen," Hermione said.

Ginny was fighting back giggles, while Sam stared at her, eyes wide as dinner plates. He didn't remove the spoon.

"It might just be a joking poem, but you never know; it could be true," Hermione said, before leaning back against a rock and reciting quietly;

"_I'll sing you a story of a silly young king_  
><em>Who played with the world at the end of a string,<em>  
><em>But he only loved one single thing -<em>  
><em>And that was just a peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_His scepter and his royal gowns,_  
><em>His regal throne and golden crowns<em>  
><em>Were brown and sticky from the mounds<em>  
><em>And drippings from each peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_His subjects all were silly fools_  
><em>For he had passed a royal rule<em>  
><em>That all that they could learn in school<em>  
><em>Was how to make a peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_He would not eat his sovereign steak,_  
><em>He scorned his soup and kingly cake,<em>  
><em>And told his courtly cook to bake<em>  
><em>An extra-sticky peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_And then one day he took a bite_  
><em>And started chewing with delight,<em>  
><em>But found his mouth was stuck quite tight<em>  
><em>From that last bite of peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_His brother pulled, his sister pried,_  
><em>The wizard pushed, his mother cried,<em>  
><em>'My boy's committed suicide<em>  
><em>From eating his last peanut-butter sandwich!'<em>

_The dentist came, and the royal doc._  
><em>The royal plumber banged and knocked,<em>  
><em>But still those jaws stayed tightly locked.<em>  
><em>Oh darn that sticky peanut-butter sandwich!<em>

_The carpenter, he tried with pliers,_  
><em>The telephone man tried with wires,<em>  
><em>The firemen, they tried with fire,<em>  
><em>But couldn t melt that peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_With ropes and pulleys, drills and coil,_  
><em>With steam and lubricating oil -<em>  
><em>For twenty years of tears and toil -<em>  
><em>They fought that awful peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_Then all his royal subjects came._  
><em>They hooked his jaws with grapplin chains<em>  
><em>And pulled both ways with might and main<em>  
><em>Against that stubborn peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_Each man and woman, girl and boy_  
><em>Put down their ploughs and pots and toys<em>  
><em>And pulled until kerack! Oh, joy -<em>  
><em>They broke right through that peanut-butter sandwich.<em>

_A puff of dust, a screech, a squeak -_  
><em>The king s jaw opened with a creak.<em>  
><em>And then in voice so faint and weak -<em>  
><em>The first words that they heard him speak<em>  
><em>Were, 'How about a peanut-butter sandwich?'<em>"

Ginny, who had held her laughter in so well, burst out with a cackle. Luna giggled, and Hermione grinned. Sam's face was filled with terror at the thought.

It was Ginny who spoke. "It's just a poem; it's never happened that I know of."

"If it had, I'd shove an extra-sticky peanut-butter sandwich in Boromir's mouth so we wouldn't have to listen to his snide comments about how women are useless in battle," Hermione said, looking pointedly at the red-haired male, whose eyes were wide at the thought of not being able to speak a word.

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><p><strong>There; Sam's introduction to peanut butter was a success, and Boromir's afraid of getting hit with a spell. Probably the shortest chapter so far.<strong>


	11. Balin's Tomb

**The battle in Balin's tomb. I admit it, I'm intent on torturing Hermione.**

**- xHx**

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><p>Gandalf led them further into the mines, following the scent of clearer air. Hermione could not help the sense of foreboding she had for the way they went. She walked side-by-side with Legolas; again, they spoke of tactics and methods for fighting the various beings Sauron and Saruman were sure to throw at them.<p>

"With trolls," he muttered, "avoid the feet and arms; fire for the head and, if you can get to it with a knife, slice the throat. Might try to bite off your arms, but I've heard it can be done."

Hermione laughed. "I've met a troll before. I was eleven," she whispered. "Hitharn and Rothrandir had to save me from it. I was too shocked by it to do anything other than cringe and hide."

The pair shared a quiet laugh, looking around in wonder as Gandalf lit the place further. Dwarrowdelf, he said it was. The columns were an architect's dream to gaze upon, carved purely of stone and reaching what seemed to be a hundred feet above them.

Hermione glanced at Luna and Ginny. Luna wore her usual dreamy smile, and Ginny looked amazed. It was a beautiful place.

"I doubt we'll ever come here again," Luna said dreamily, "so take in all you can of the place." Every male in the company gave Luna an odd look; Gimli threw her a glare. Sam, however, was the only one in agreement with her.

As the company walked, Hermione's gaze turned from wondered and bright, to sharp, alert, and wary. She didn't focus on any of the details of the cavernous room; she now sought signs of danger.

She was second to notice the skeletal corpses, the open door. With a gasp, she realized that the worst was yet to come.

Gimli's shout got her moving again; she followed right behind him as he ran for the door.

The room was probably the most lit place in Moria. White light filtered through a square cutout in the wall, illuminating the carved lettering on the marble. Of course, she couldn't read it, even if she tried; these letters were nothing like the ones she knew.

As the rest of the company filled the room, she looked around. More bodies inside the tomb, for that was what it was. She could feel that. The white light somehow made it all the more somber for its brilliance.

Gandalf's voice was the background for her careful inspection of the pages covering the floor. Despite not being able to read the runes, she could see that they were records of some sort.

The bodies had spider's webs over them, for the most part. Hermione, in her quest for knowledge of this world, inspected one of them, the one who had held the large book Gandalf now read from.

A clattering interrupted her. She whirled around and upright, a hand on her wand, before she saw Pippin's expression. She relaxed, but Gandalf did not.

"Fool of a Took!" he said, slamming the book closed. "Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity."

Hermione just shook her head. Pippin was far more curious than she was; it would only be natural for him to be a bit foolish.

And then the drums began.

They were soft, at first, barely audible. They echoed through the room, filling her head. Her hands pressed to her temples, trying to make it hurt less with each thudding of the drums.

_Drums...blue-glowing blade...a shout...and monsters_, she thought. This part of her dream was incredibly clear now.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam said. This drew Hermione's attention. Frodo half-drew his blade; it did glow, a brilliant blue, much like that of a Patronus.

"Orcs," Legolas said. Hermione, reacting quickly, pulled her bow free and held it in front of her as Boromir dashed to the door.

_Two arrows, barely missing_, she thought just as she heard the whistle of the arrows and the thunk they made into the wood.

"Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted. All four Hobbits clustered behind the grey-haired wizard. Luna and Ginny both drew their wands, twisting them a little, as Hermione and Legolas tossed axes from within the room to Boromir and Aragorn. They were trying to barracade the door, trying to give them time.

Something Boromir said finally reached her half-numb brain. A cave-troll. Without really wanting to, she thought back to the very troll she'd told Legolas of not fifteen minutes ago. But she could not focus on that; she had this battle to attend to.

The four backed away from the doors, taking places around the marble grave of Gimli's cousin Balin. Hermione, Legolas, and Aragorn drew their bows. Hermione shut down all emotion; she did not want to find herself repulsed by anything she did today.

Hermione stood between Aragorn and Legolas, just behind them. Breaking through the wooden door, she thought to herself. Blades broke through the wood in a couple of places. Legolas fired for one and struck; she could hear it screeching. She herself fired for the other and connected.

As the Orcs converged on them, Hermione clung to her bow with her left hand, with the other drawing one of her knives. She slashed and whirled and ducked and sliced, every once in a while bringing her foot up to kick an Orc in the face. It felt oddly good, fighting like this; she felt more alive than she ever had.

Coming to a momentary stop beside Sam after having sliced an Orc across the throat, she froze, her eyes drawn up.

As she watched, the thing's club came slamming through the top of the door. An Orc pulled it along by a large-link chain. It looked like a cross between a zombie and the troll she'd met in her first year of Hogwarts, except that it wore only a loincloth and its head was huge. Its grey skin looked tough.

Her ears told her of Legolas's arrow before she saw it embed itself in the creature's right shoulder. It roared and grabbed the shaft before lumbering toward her and Sam, swinging its club. She ducked beneath its club-arm, while Sam scrambled under its legs. They'd confused it!

Gimli's axe was the next thing to connect with its flesh, while Hermione grappled with an Orc only a few feet behind the troll, wand to blade. She had tried three spells already against it; they didn't seem to care. Without thinking, she jabbed the tip of her wand into its neck, intending to use a Stinging Jinx to get it away from her. Instead, it fell to the ground, a red starburst on its flesh marking where she'd struck. The Stinging Jinx was deadly against Orcs.

She ducked around a dozen more Orcs as something distracted her from the goal of destroying as many of these disgusting creatures as possible. The troll was focusing on Legolas now. She could not explain the incredible need to stop it from attacking him. She also knew it was illogical, and that Legolas could take care of the problem himself, but he had more than one enemy assailing him.

The troll was using the chain like a whip.

She vaulted herself onto the space Legolas stood, only to duck and avoid the troll's improvised whip. She struck two Orcs with her wand-tip and paralyzed another with a short incantation, while Legolas trapped the chain around a column, ran across its length, and fired an arrow into the back of its neck. An Orc attempting to take advantage of her temporarily distracted state was dispatched with a green-fletched arrow only a second after Legolas jumped free of the troll.

A loud -clang!- filled her ears. She knew what that had to be; Sam, hitting an Orc over the head with one of his pans. It sounded again, and again. She couldn't help but smile. And then a loud squelching noise could be heard. Luna had dropped a Dungbomb, and an Orc had stepped on it. For a moment, Hermione found herself paralyzed by the stink.

Shaking herself off, she ducked beneath an Orc's blade, elbowed it in the stomach, and struck its neck with her wand. She could not allow herself to be distracted from her fight any longer.

Finally, with no Orcs left to distract her, she aimed her wand at the troll. Ginny and Luna did the same, and, all sharing a short glance, they shouted in unison, _"Incarcerous!"_ Large, thick ropes flew from their wands, wrapping around the troll. But they were ineffective; it ripped right through them.

The troll roared, reaching for Hermione with one hand as it pulled Merry off its back with the other. _Just when I thought I was done being grabbed by weird creatures, another one picks me up,_ she thought. It gripped her by the arm, swinging her around. She was sure her shoulder would be dislocated by the time it let her loose.

Ginny and Luna both let loose a barrage of spells, but Hermione knew that they would be ineffective. This thing was impervious to them. Finally, she could only think of one thing, and she shouted it with her wand aimed at the troll's torso.

_"Sectumsempra!"_

Several deep gashes appeared in its flesh and it dropped her and Merry, but it still wouldn't go down. From where she lay, clutching her arm, she saw Legolas line up a shot and loose an arrow just as the thing roared. The sound turned to a piteous moaning. It grabbed its lip, stumbled for a moment, and crashed down, its head an inch from her.

Luna was the first to speak, helping Pippin up and dusting him off.

"I think that went rather well."

Ginny muttered something about Luna, helping Hermione to stand before whispering a soft incantation to repair her shoulder.

Hermione lifted her arm experimentally. No pain. She nodded.

Loud shrieks could be heard beyond the tomb.

Something else was coming.


	12. The Bridge

"To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm!" Gandalf said; everyone was suddenly running from the room, through a door on the other side of the tomb. Ginny, Luna, and Hermione didn't even bother with their wands. They followed Gandalf's lit staff through the place as strange creatures filled the hall from cracks in floor and ceiling. Finally, the company was forced to stop when the creatures surrounded them.

Legolas leaned close, his bow drawn, an arrow notched. "Goblins," he muttered. The trio of ladies shared a nervous glance; these foul creatures with reptilian eyes…were _goblins_?

The creatures snarled and grimaced at the motley group. Hermione could tell that they wanted to rip each member apart, and probably eat them.

All was silent, for the space of a heartbeat, and then the goblins began to look around at each other, while a flaming light appeared near one end of the hall and the sound of a dragging chain could be heard. Whatever made that noise was enough to scare these hideous things. And then Hermione knew.

This thing, the creature that now made the goblins run from the company, terrified, was the winged beast of black shadow and red flame she had seen in her dream. It had been awakened. Her eyes widened, and she glanced at Legolas, hoping he would reassure her. He was just as terrified, and would not look at her. Instead, he tried to aim his bow, before lowering it, his eyes finally seeing the fiery light.

"What is this…new devilry?" Boromir asked of Gandalf.

He seemed reluctant to answer. "A Balrog," he finally said. "A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"

Hermione did not hesitate to follow his order. As Gandalf turned to his right, the direction opposite the orange glow, Hermione was right behind him, running side by side with Boromir. She did not know where her friends were in the group now. Gandalf, upon glancing back, looked terrified.

Through the door, she let Boromir pass her, only to find herself half-stumbling as he dropped his torch into the chasm below them. She felt a slim hand on her shoulder and knew she would not fall – forward, that is. She fell onto the stairs they'd run down, Legolas beside her, between her and Boromir now. She gave a slight nod; that was the only thanks he'd get for saving her life that time.

She stood, dusting herself off a little, and glanced below, immediately straightening and wishing she hadn't looked. _That would have been the worst way to return to Hogwarts; to fall into the darkness of Moria,_ she thought.

The company began to run down the stairs, to the right rather than straight forward, but Legolas vaulted himself over the edge of one staircase and landed smoothly on the set below it. Hermione shook her head a little as she ran, now right behind him when she had been far ahead.

She supposed it was better to have Legolas ahead of her, as she finally spotted a broken part of the staircase not far ahead. She probably would've fallen right into it.

He was, in fact, the first to jump across. Hermione watched what he did, and then, mimicking his movements, she leapt across, landing oddly smooth, although she _did_ nearly fall backwards. Legolas grabbed her hand, an odd sort of look in his eyes, and pulled her up.

She took a couple steps down on the staircase, her eyes drawn to the surrounding areas.

"Gandalf!" she heard Legolas call. The staff-light seemed to get nearer to her, and then, sure enough, she heard the whistle of an arrow flying toward them. She pulled her bow and notched a white-fletched arrow, drawing back and releasing it. She struck the very creature that had loosed an arrow toward Gandalf, through what might have been the eye.

She continued firing as Legolas and Aragorn joined the efforts. Occasionally, the room would be lit with a shocking red as Ginny or Luna fired off Stunning Spells at the creatures.

The next spell fired by Luna barely missed Hermione's ear. She turned around to see that she was not on the same side of the staircase. And then an arrow barely missed her, so she resumed releasing arrows at the goblins or Orcs or whatever these things were.

"Merry! Pippin!" Boromir yelled. Next thing heard were their three voices, yelling without words, and a cracking from the stone. Hermione glanced over just in time to watch the piece of stair she herself had jumped from plunging into the depths.

_"Protego!"_ Hermione shouted. A large, translucent blue shield erupted from her wand-tip. It worked only one way, blocking the attacks of the enemies while allowing their own attacks through. It would never work when surrounded, though, and Hermione realized that.

She felt a lot of pointed stares on her as she loosed another arrow. Obviously, they could not believe what she had just crafted.

"Sam!" Aragorn shouted from across the gap. He pulled the Hobbit forward a little, and then flung him to Boromir.

Then, the next thing she heard was Gimli saying, "Nobody tosses a Dwarf." And then he leapt across the gap, only to land almost-horizontal, with his feet on the stone stair. Legolas leaned forward, while Hermione turned back to release a few more arrows at the ones attempting to assail them with arrows.

"Not the beard!" Gimli cried. She couldn't help but smirk at that.

The stairs began to crumble. Ginny leapt back up the stairs, while Aragorn pushed Frodo up and climbed up behind him. Hermione watched the redhead with anxious eyes; if Ginny fell this early into their quest, she'd be the one who had to tell Harry the news, and she did not look forward to that.

She barely heard a word Aragorn said. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears as she watched the door through which they'd come collapse with wide, fearful eyes. The growling and chain-dragging sound echoed, making the wall's crumbling sounds almost insignificant.

A large piece of the wall crashed through a weak point in the staircase with a loud sound akin to an explosion.

The column under Aragorn, Frodo, and Ginny began to crack; the sounds it made battered her ears.

The section of staircase the three stood upon wobbled.

"Hang on!" Aragorn shouted.

Hermione could only watch.

"Lean forward!"

Frodo and Ginny did as Aragorn bade them, and as they leaned, the staircase started to fall. They would land in the arms of their companions, if they were lucky.

As the staircase fragment crashed forward, Legolas caught Aragorn, Boromir caught Frodo, and Hermione caught her best friend, and the company began running again.

Hermione glanced back to watch the piece of staircase crash down, grateful she was still in this world.

"Over the bridge," Gandalf ordered them all. "Fly!"

Hermione, again, did not hesitate. She followed behind Aragorn, amongst the Hobbits. Every once in a while, she'd glance back and make sure Luna and Ginny were still with the group. They ran between Legolas and Gimli, each holding their wands at the ready.

As she glanced back at the halfway point, she saw it.

"Gandalf!" she shouted, letting loose a flare of blue sparks without wanting to, which drew the old wizard's eyes to the flames behind him. He turned, just in time to see the Balrog, as she now knew the creature of black shadow and red fire was called, emerging from the golden flames that crafted a barrier.

It was far larger than it had seemed in her dream. She turned back to her goal, finally making it to the bridge, as Gandalf, too, turned to run.

She, Aragorn, and Boromir had surged to the front of the group, somehow, and Aragorn made sure she went first by dropping his speed slightly. She nodded in thanks.

_First on the bridge, first across the bridge,_ she thought to herself.

She spun around once she reached the other side of the bridge, letting the others run past her. Gandalf might have been last across, if the Balrog had not taken a step onto the edge of the bridge.

"You cannot pass!" he shouted.

"Gandalf!" Frodo yelled.

The Balrog stood up, its flames roaring high and bright.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor," Gandalf said. He seemed determined to destroy the Balrog. A bright white light flared around him as he raised his staff; it formed a shield. "The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!" The Balrog raised a flame-covered shadow-blade and swung.

Hermione had to cover her eyes against the bright flash of light as the blade connected with the shield, and both objects vanished.

The Balrog roared; Hermione could feel the heat of its breath all the way across the bridge.

"Go back to the Shadow," Gandalf said, wand and staff crossed in front of him.

The Balrog took a step and flashed a long whip crafted of flame.

"You shall not pass!" Gandalf yelled, holding his sword and staff apart, putting them together, and crashing the end of the longer into the bridge.

Another flash of white light, this time from the bridge itself, it seemed.

The Balrog huffed, nostrils flaring, and took another step, only to have the bridge give way under his weight. The demon fell.

Gandalf turned toward his company.

The Balrog's whip cracked up, wrapped around Gandalf's ankle, and began to yank him down.

"No!" Ginny shouted. Hermione wrapped a hand around the redhead's shoulder.

Gandalf pulled himself up and held himself there just long enough to tell them to run. And run they did. Hermione was next to last to leave. She didn't let any of her companions see, but as she ran, tears streaked through the dirt on her cheeks.


	13. Lothlorien

**I know I don't update on weekends. There's no reason to worry when that happens. Thank you for all the reviews, and here's chapter 13 – lucky thirteen!**

**- xHx**

Upon the stony mountainside, Hermione stood a little apart from the rest of the remaining eleven of their company, gazing across the landscape, trying to keep her sobbing quiet. She knew there was nothing for it; Gandalf could not be saved. But that didn't stop her tears.

Luna and Ginny came near her only after they realized that they were not the saddest.

"It was like losing Dumbledore all over again," Ginny whispered, putting an arm around her best friends' shoulders. "We have to stay strong."

Hermione and Luna nodded, and the three looked at each other, embracing in a group hug, as they were known to do. Then, breaking loose of the embrace, Hermione raised her wand and muttered a short incantation. From her wand-tip burst, not the otter, but a silver gazelle, which cantered away towards its destined recipient in Rivendell. The trio of friends glanced at each other, surprised at the sudden difference to Hermione's Patronus.

This went unnoticed by the rest of the party, lost as they were in their grief. Hermione untied her beaded bag from its place on her hip and rummaged through it until she found her quarry; a bottle of butterbeer, the only one she had brought along. With a sigh, she opened it up and drank the warm contents.

"Legolas, Rosmir, get them up," Aragorn called. Hermione turned to look even though her own name was unmentioned. He was keeping it together, and here she was, moping and drinking butterbeer to calm herself.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir said. Hermione, despite her constant disagreements with Boromir, agreed with this, but dared not admit it.

"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs," Aragorn said. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien."

"Aragorn, must we move so quickly?" Luna said, approaching the man with her hands slightly extended. She was wearing her handmade hare bracelet, and the little creature was bouncing with every step she took.

"Lothrendis, unless you wish to fight off a larger number of Orcs than we faced in there," he motioned toward Moria, "then we must move with all haste. Come, Boromir. Legolas. Rosmir, Gimli, get them up."

Hermione walked over to where Merry and Pippin were and helped the younger to his feet, wiping his cheeks lightly. Legolas stood with Merry, telling him something in a hushed voice. The two shared a glance and a faint, sad smile. Each knew what the other was thinking; that they were glad to still have their lives, even though the company was now one fewer.

Hermione and Gimli walked side-by-side through the trees in Lothlórien. She could not focus enough on what any one of her companions said, but instead felt overwhelmed with the power the woods seemed filled with.

_The whisperings of the stars were true._

Hermione looked around wildly for the source of the graceful voice she heard, but saw only her companions. This voice did not belong to Ginny or Luna. This voice was of someone in the wood.

_You have returned, Hísiven Rhovanel, to a world you no longer remember. You feel as though you belong._

Hermione shook her head trying to dispel the voice.

_You were meant to live your life here._

She finally stopped walking as she found a drawn bow aimed directly at her face.

"The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark." An Elf with hair purer than gold stepped around one of his companions, one whose bow was aimed directly at Aragorn's face, was the one who spoke. Aragorn seemed to know him.

That evening, the company stood upon a leaf-shaped platform. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all stood with their arms folded, watching the man, Haldir, greet the others in one of the Elvish dialects. Hermione could not identify it, but once Gimli spoke, she knew that it would be tense.

Aragorn picked up on that, too, and turned with a hand to Gimli's shoulder. "That was not so courteous," he said. Hermione and Luna shared a glance, wondering what the Dwarf had said.

Haldir walked around Aragorn to look at Frodo. "You bring great evil with you," he said. "You can go no further."

The Elf turned away, before he remembered something and turned back, walking toward Hermione.

"The rumor heard upon the wind is true, I see now before me. Hísiven Rhovanel, youngest child of Lord Elrond, Wild Star of our people, has truly returned," he said. _"Avathar fana i alcarin ohtariel."_

Hermione smiled, for the way he'd spoken it left her thinking it was a compliment, but she kept quiet, not knowing what to say in reply. And the man turned again, walking away once more.

Not too much later, Hermione stood beside Legolas, glancing every once in a while at Aragorn and Haldir, who were locked in a heated argument.

"What did he say to me earlier?" she muttered.

Legolas had momentarily forgotten that she could not follow either dialect of Elvish in a spoken manner, but had been learning the letters prior to their departure from Rivendell. With a soft, anxious laugh, he whispered in reply, "He said, 'The darkness veiled the glorious lady warrior.' He said it in reference to your time in the other realm."

Hermione nodded, glancing back at Aragorn and Haldir. "What do they say now?"

"Aragorn is trying to convince Haldir to allow us to continue through Lothlórien and to protect us from those who seek to kill us. Haldir is refusing," Legolas said, his expression solemn.

"Well, that doesn't make much sense," Hermione whispered.

Finally, after quite a span of time waiting for the argument to finish, Haldir said, "You will follow me."

**Please read and review. I'm going to need help further in the story with writing pieces after the Breaking of the Fellowship. I'm going to stick to Hermione's little saga like glue; please PM me or review with your choice of Ginny, Luna, or perhaps even Harry. I really want to put some more stuff from him into this, and I've already got a few pieces in my head ready for the future of this story. Please.**

**- xHx**


	14. A Personal Gift

**Chapter fourteen, where a few of the foggy details of the story come into focus. Lothlórien is the only section of Fellowship for which I use the Extended Edition text; all known lines are property of Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. Some of them are altered to suit my plotline.**

**- xHx**

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><p>The three girls walked between Frodo and Legolas. Hermione, with her fear of flying, was the most self-conscious as they neared the top of the vast spiral stair that wrapped around a large tree. Her eyes were wide as, glancing down, she took in how far from the ground she stood.<p>

As the company stopped at the foot of the staircase, she could not help but glance behind her at the open space where she believed there should be floor and whimper faintly. _That would hurt_, she thought to herself.

"The enemy knows you have entered here," Lord Celeborn began. "What hope you had in secrecy is now gone." He paused, before he changed the subject on himself. "Eleven there are here, but twelve there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf. For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar."

"He has fallen into Shadow," Lady Galadriel said.

"He was taken by both shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth," Legolas said. "For we went needlessly into the net of Moria."

"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose," the Lady said. Hermione and Ginny shared a short glance, both with eyebrows raised. This elf-woman was stranger than Luna on a good day. "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dûm fill your heart, Gimli, son of Glóin, for the world has grown full of peril, and in all lands love is now mingled with grief."

"What now becomes of this Fellowship?" Celeborn said. "Without Gandalf, hope is lost."

"The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all," the Lady said. "Yet, hope remains while the company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep in peace."

All of the men in the company bowed slightly to the Lord and Lady, but the three women remained, frozen and staring at the tall woman who seemed to glow.

"Hísiven, why do you and your friends remain?" the Lady asked.

"I was just wondering exactly who you are," Hermione said.

Lady Galadriel smiled. "All will be revealed in time. Join your companions; they will worry."

* * *

><p>Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all leaned close, whispering, as the Elves of Lothlórien sang their lament for Gandalf. They were discussing a possible prank to play on Boromir.<p>

"I think we should that spell Harry demonstrated with a willing Elf back in Rivendell," Luna said. "The one that lifts up the victim by the ankle."

"I was thinking of that _Langlock_ thing. Shut him up for a while," Ginny muttered.

"I don't know the counter for that," Hermione said. "I do like Luna's idea, but that might scare everyone else, so I was thinking of the Tickling Jinx."

All three smirked and nodded. This was to be Luna's personal prank on Boromir, but it had to be something decided upon as a group.

The three looked up, eyes drawn toward Boromir. Legolas knew they would be doing this, but no one else knew of it. They may have hinted at it, but they gave nothing away.

Luna raised her wand, waiting for the perfect moment.

Aragorn was walking to Boromir. Hermione nudged the blonde, telling her to do it _now_.

"_Rictusempra,"_ the blonde whispered. A thin, barely-noticeable jet of pure white light shot from the end of her wand and landed on Boromir, who almost immediately doubled over in laughter from the jinx. Everyone was looking at him oddly, and taking advantage of their distraction, Hermione raised her wand and cast the same jinx over Merry. Ginny, catching on, fired yet another, this one for Gimli.

Legolas cracked a smile, watching them. It was a perfect way to lighten the mood.

Finally, when Hermione deemed they'd suffered the Tickling Jinx long enough, they all pointed their wands at the three members of the company who they had hit and muttered, _"Finite."_ All three slowly calmed. Merry was grinning, of course. He'd be asking them later if he could learn how to do that.

Aragorn, shaking his head slightly, continued toward Boromir, while Legolas finally sat down beside the three young ladies. Hermione, of course, tried to ignore the fact that he treated Ginny, Luna, and just about the rest of the group like children; all except for her and Gandalf. Some days he just reminded her of another blonde with the way he acted, but he was not Draco Malfoy. Behind his apparent distaste, there was a certain degree of caring, something he tried very hard to hide.

"What are you thinking about?" he whispered into her ear, gently smoothing her hair behind it.

"Nothing much, really. Just how much I've missed being at Hogwarts when I should have been here," she muttered in reply.

"It was not quite so adventurous as your time there, Hísiven. Rosmir shared what she knows with me as well. You were far too modest with me back in Rivendell," he said, brushing a finger over her cheek.

"I only told you my perception of myself."

"Hísiven."

The brunette turned, to see Haldir standing a few feet away from her.

"Lady Galadriel wishes to speak to you and your two friends alone," he said. "Follow me."

The trio of girls stood up, brushing off their leggings, and followed Haldir as he walked to a space under a willow tree and held open the curtain. "Wait here," he said. And he left.

"Well," Ginny said. "I don't know what's happening, but that can't be good."

"Or it's better, because she wants to talk to us without anyone listening," Luna said. "We don't know how things work around here."

"That is true," Hermione muttered. "I'm still nervous."

"There is no need to be anxious, Hísiven," the Lady said softly. The three turned and took in the splendor of the Lady of Light. "Rosmir, Lothrendis." She was smiling, and held in her hands two books.

"Good evening, my Lady," Lothrendis said, bowing her head in respect to the Elf-woman.

"There is no need for that." She motioned them to a table near the roots of the willow, where she set the two books. One was thicker than the other, yet the thinner was larger in other ways. She opened this one to a page near the back and began to read aloud from it, translating from the Quenya in which it was written.

"_An ancient pair of Elves of the second generation was the first to find the rift between the two realms. Their names were Lómëar and Lómehel, the Ladies of the Twilight, of Sea and Sky. Lómehel was the only Elf ever with hair of flames. Her sister, Lómëar, had hair the color of silvery moonlight. As the years progressed, it was learned that these sisters had begun a race of magical beings in the other world, and had passed into legend._

"_It was, and still is, believed that Lómëar and Lómehel wander between the worlds, guiding those meant to live in one world but born in the other to their destinies. They are seen once in a great while in the forest of Fangorn, and are known as Narcundo and Lúsinanto, the Flame Guardian and the Glowing Giver. Sometimes, they bless one of their descendants with their own strength, the power and beauty of the Elves. The more interesting factor is, when an Elf-child is sent to the other realm, they will bless that child with the strength and ability to join their descendants, known to the non-magical people of their world as wizards._

"_Over the many years since the beginning of Wizard-kind, they have lost their ethereal beauty, their pointed ears, and their memories of Lómëar and Lómehel. Witches are visited by the sisters as those their parents cannot see until their eighth birthday. It is said that, rarely, the sisters will make their presence known. The methods change each time, but it always means something good is to happen."_

Lady Galadriel closed the book and slid it away from her, blue eyes watching Luna and Ginny. Both girls were staring forward with a deer-in-the-headlights type of expression, which looked kind of funny.

"Hísiven," the Lady said, turning to the brunette, "I have a gift for you. Share it only with these two girls and Legolas, as it is partly for him as well." And she handed Hermione the thicker of the tomes. "It was a joint effort of myself, Gandalf, and your Albus Dumbledore. I wrote the list which makes this so thick; a complete index of Quenya and Sindarin words and phrases. Gandalf rewrote the list in Westron, and delivered that to Albus, who finished it with your letters in both translation and pronunciation and bound it as a book. It was always destined for you."

Hermione opened the book to a random page and read the first entry. The word itself was feather. The Westron would be recognizable to her again, as would the Elvish text. Next to the word was the pronunciation of the Elvish word; _quesse_, and a stressed pronunciation guide beside it. Hermione grinned.

"Thank you, my Lady," she said, closing the book gently. "You were a friend of Albus Dumbledore?"

The Lady nodded. "How is he?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this," Hermione said, shifting the book to one arm and placing her free hand on the Elf-woman's shoulder, "but he is dead."

"Who brought him this fate?"

"A man named Severus Snape. Someone I have never trusted, but Albus did trust him. He worked at Hogwarts as the Potions master," Hermione said.

The Lady nodded lightly. "Thank you for telling me," she said. "Return to your friends. They may start to worry."

Upon returning, Hermione settled onto her bedroll with her knees bent and her back against the tree, slowly turning the pages of her new book. It was much like a thesaurus. Each word had the additional ways of writing it and the Elvish way of pronouncing it in a short summarization beside it. Westron reminded her slightly of the work in her Ancient Runes class, and the Elvish writing was too beautiful to exist anywhere but amongst the Elves.

Legolas noticed her involvement in the tome, but thought it best not to interrupt her. Ginny had told him that disrupting Hermione while she was reading was to open yourself up to a verbal and physical attack.

By the time they both took their rest, Hermione had read half of the book.

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><p><strong>I'm rather proud of this chapter. It took me quite two days to get the specifics down, but this was worth it.<strong>

**Please read and review.**

**- xHx**


	15. Gifts for All

The following morning, just after sunrise, Lord Celeborn gave all eleven of them hooded cloaks and small silvery leaf-pins to wear. Hermione graciously accepted the gift, testing it a little with the gentle sway of fabric. It reminded her of the Hogwarts uniforms with the way it elegantly flowed. She glanced at her companions, then back at Lord Celeborn. She could understand his words, but she did not feel like a stranger here. She felt like she belonged, at least a little. Maybe it had something to do with what Lady Galadriel had said to her only fifteen minutes previously.

"_As my granddaughters, you and Arwen bear many similarities in many ways. One example is your appearances. Another is how closely bound you are in your spirits. If she is ever in distress, you will know it. If her strength declines, so will yours." The Lady placed a hand upon her shoulder. "You can also communicate with each other across vast distances."_

After they had received their cloaks, Hermione and Legolas found themselves pulled aside by Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. They held out a pair of identical, smooth, shimmering rings, crafted of mithril and unadorned.

"These rings are not like any of the Great Rings, but they are great in their own respect. They mimic each other in many ways. Should one ring be twisted, the wearer of the other will feel it move in tandem," Celeborn said.

"In addition," Galadriel began, "if one ring should have anything scratch over its surface, the lines will appear in the other ring. Take care of them."

The two younger Elves took the mithril rings and settled them onto their right-hand ring fingers, testing them slightly before turning to grin at one another. Hermione had finally accepted that she was Elf-kind by birthright and would learn all she could. The two rejoined the line of the Fellowship as Lady Galadriel began handing out gifts. To Boromir, she gave a golden belt. To Legolas, she offered a new bow, the Bow of the Galadhirrim. Hermione was next in the line.

"To you, Hísiven, I give the Bow of Macaranel," the Lady said, handing to the brunette a white bow with a delicately carved wing pattern, "a bow worthy of a warrior maiden in the current time."

Hermione, smiling lightly, lifted the bow and tested it slowly, pulling back. A moment later, a young Elf-woman came over and handed her a quiver filled with red-fletched arrows. "These are better with this bow," the girl said. Hermione nodded and accepted the quiver, which matched the bow in carvings and color.

"For you, Lothrendis, I have this," the Lady said from a ways down in the line. Sam was frowning over his gift of rope, casting slightly jealous glances toward Merry and Pippin's daggers of the Noldori, their gifts from the Lady. But the Lady drew Hermione's gaze the most, holding up a small, crystalline orb. "This is the Orb of Iswamande. Whisper the name of the one you wish to see into it, and you will see their current situation, but if you should whisper to it their name and the word _hlussë_, you will be able to speak to the one in question."

The Lady continued, now asking Gimli what he wanted. Legolas and Hermione started comparing their bows. Sam and Luna started discussing the pros and cons of their own gifts.

"Rosmir," the Lady said, drawing Hermione's attention once again. "For you, I have the Eye of Lúnirë. Hold it up to your eyes and gaze in any direction. You will be able to see for one-thousand leagues in whatever direction you should choose."

The Lady continued down the line of the Fellowship, and then the group began to fill their four boats with their possessions. Hermione, Luna, and Ginny would have a boat to themselves; Hermione would row for them.

When Aragorn joined the company in loading the boats, the Lady motioned for the trio of girls to come near her.

"Your names are no longer suited to you. _I ambaruva anta Lóven, Nartaurë, ar Losírë_," the Lady said, placing a hand upon the shoulder of each girl as she said her new name. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna nodded in turn. "Trust in each other, for you will find that, sooner than later, you will need to separate." And she sent them to the boats.

* * *

><p>Hermione rowed slowly from the banks, ahead of Boromir boat and behind Legolas and Aragorn. She had never gone for a long trip by river before and found it quite calming.<p>

"Hermione?" Ginny said, adjusting her position.

"What is it, Ginny?"

"Why are you wearing that silver ring?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and grinned. "It was another gift from Lady Galadriel. She gave one just like it to Legolas." She looked ahead at the Elf's back, smiling gently as she watched him rowing. He was a strong man. For a moment, she imagined something that would likely never happen. Legolas in dress robes, waiting for her beneath an altar, his face glowing with triumph and joy as he watched her walking down the aisle. She shook her head slightly, trying to get the image out of her head. She'd been in the other realm for far too long.

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><p>"<strong><em>I ambaruva anta Lóven, Nartaurë, ar Losírë"<em> translates to "The world will face the Night Maiden, the Flame of the Forest, and the Flower of Desire." Or thereabouts; I was working with two different lists of translations.**

**- xHx**


	16. The Fellowship is Breaking

**All right, standard disclaimers...I own none of the characters, nor do I own the base situation. Some things, however, I do own, such as Hermione's new weirdness and the way the group is split. After this, a few "ghost writers" might be helpful. This contains as much as I dare write around Luna and Ginny themselves.**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>The company pulled their boats onto the shoreline a vast distance from Lothlórien and started to set up camp.<p>

"We cross the lake at nightfall," Aragorn said, carrying things from the boats to their resting spots on the shore. "Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the North."

His words sent a shiver down Hermione's spine.

"Oh, yes?" Gimli said. He sounded very unhappy. "Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil, an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks. And after that, it gets even better! Festering, stinking marshland as far as the eye can see."

"That is our road," Aragorn replied.

Hermione, noticing that Legolas looked troubled, approached him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Is there something wrong?"

His blue eyes shifted to her face. "I am not sure." He turned away, walking toward Aragorn. Hermione followed him. "We should leave now."

"No," Aragorn said, barely turning his head to acknowledge his friend's words. "Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness."

"It is not the eastern shore that worries me," Legolas said, turning to look at Hermione. "A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near." He smiled one of his little, sad smiles for Hermione. "I can feel it."

As he spoke, she felt slightly dizzy. She put a palm to her forehead and made her way to a nearby tree. Her eyes closed.

_The archer raised his bow. His eyes were a strange color, his skin the color of coal. His appearance terrified her, as did the growl emanating from his throat._

"Hísiven?"

The brunette opened her eyes to find Legolas standing beside her, his blue eyes worried.

"I saw…" she whispered, her voice faint. Legolas offered her a drink of water, which she accepted gratefully. "You are right; we cannot linger here too long."

He nodded, easing the girl to the ground against the tree. "What was it?"

She shook her head. "Something I have never seen before."

"Where's Frodo?"

Merry's words brought a bit of panic to Hermione's heart. She stood, with help from Legolas, and took another drink of water. As she looked over the area around them, the little shoreline camp they had created, she saw that another was missing: Boromir.

Aragorn took off, to try and find the Hobbit; Legolas and Gimli followed him right away. Hermione motioned for Ginny and Luna to come to her.

"This is what Lady Galadriel spoke of," Hermione said. "Ginny, into the woods; your place is with Boromir. Do not ask me where he is or how long it will take you to reach him. I can only say that your place is where he is. Draw your weapons; you will need them." The redhead nodded, drawing her blade and her wand and running into the woods. "Luna, I suggest you remain here, near the boats. This is your place. After that, your place will be revealed to you." The blonde nodded and smiled, moving to a fairly covered place at the edge of the water.

The other three Hobbits had run into the woods while the three girls spoke. Hermione knew her true place was in those woods; she followed her instincts and the faint, vague directives offered by her ring of mithril, pulling free her bow and running into the woods.

* * *

><p>Ginny threw herself into the battle, side-by-side with Boromir. She cut down eight of the creatures, chopping off their heads, before she tucked away her wand and pulled her dagger, now fighting with both blades.<p>

Merry and Pippin fought behind her, Boromir ahead. She would never have agreed to this before, but since their final prank upon Boromir she'd felt a new camaraderie with the Man of Gondor. She also would never admit to it.

She and Boromir both knew that this fight was too much for both of them. He began blowing on his white horn. Ginny held her dagger momentarily between her teeth and pointed her wand skyward. Red sparks erupted.

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><p>Hermione found her place soon enough. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were fighting viciously. She drew her bow and fired three arrows only before the horn began to sound. Of course something would call her away from this!<p>

She shared a look with Legolas and knew he had wanted her to remain behind, but with a small smile she assured him she was fine.

And then she saw the flame-red sparks.

_Aw, damn it, Ginny! What did you get yourself into?_

Aragorn blew past her, fighting the creatures the whole way. Hermione was a second behind, releasing arrows into those he missed.

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><p>Ginny was far quicker and more agile than her fighting companions. She ducked and dodged the blades with ease, occasionally sweeping her leg under an opponent to smash him into the ground.<p>

She ignored Boromir's command to run, instead continuing to fight the coal-skinned creatures. She would not give up.

One arrow struck Boromir.

Ginny froze for a moment, her eyes locked on the man's form, and she continued to fight.

Another arrow.

She did not stop this time; she continued to slice and strike at her opponents.

A third arrow.

Now she stopped fully. Her eyes were glued to the man's form, leaving her open to being wounded. But they did not; one of the creatures picked her up.

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><p>Hermione saw the coal-skinned archer before she saw anything else. She drew back her bow and struck the being through the shoulder, just before Aragorn landed upon him. And then she watched the fight intently, another arrow at the ready, should he need it.<p>

Aragorn sliced off the creature's right arm and stabbed through his torso. It was ineffective.

Hermione started running.

Aragorn chopped off its head.

Only then did she see Boromir and the three black arrows sticking out of his chest. Aragorn ran to him.

"They took the little ones," the red-haired man said. "They took Rosmir."

"Hold still," Aragorn said. Hermione knelt down beside the two, untying her beaded bag, though she was certain it would be useless to summon any of her potions.

"Frodo. Where is Frodo?"

"I let Frodo go."

Hermione suddenly felt like a fool.

"Then you did what I could not. I tried to take the Ring from him."

"The Ring is beyond our reach now."

"Forgive me. I did not see it. I have failed you all."

"No, Boromir."

"Boromir, you were one of the bravest ones here today," Hermione said, placing her hand on his free arm. "Nearly all of these corpses are proof of that. You fought to protect them."

Boromir did not smile. He did not acknowledge her words. But she knew he'd heard. Aragorn nodded slightly at what she had said and made a move to pull one of the arrows free.

"Leave it," Boromir said. "It is over. The world of Men will fall. And all will come to darkness, and my city to ruin."

"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you, I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail."

Now Hermione felt like she was intruding on a very personal moment.

"Our people," Boromir said. "Our people." He turned his head, looking for something. Aragorn knew what he wanted and gave him his sword, which he clutched to his chest.

Hermione turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps that she was sure only she could hear. Legolas was coming. She pushed herself up to her feet and took a few steps back from the two Men. But she could still hear Boromir's words.

"I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king."

And Boromir of Gondor took his last breath. Hermione turned away, shaking her head slightly, walking toward Legolas slowly. A single tear slid from each of her eyes.

* * *

><p>Luna sat a few feet from the water's edge, unnoticed by Frodo as he stood there, watching the eastern shore as if for some sign. Finally, she had to do something.<p>

"Are you just going to stand there, Frodo," she said, walking out of the brush and putting a hand on his shoulder, "or are you going to start your journey?"

The Hobbit looked up. "I don't know. It just feels like there's something missing."

"A traveling companion, perhaps?" the blonde said, patting his shoulder.

"Yes, that might be it." Frodo and Luna prepared to launch one of the boats, after he put the Ring into his vest pocket. Frodo seemed determined to reach the eastern shore before anyone else found him.

She began rowing.

"Frodo, no!" they heard from the bank they had left. "Frodo!"

The sounds of splashing were heard as Sam walked into the edge of the river.

"Mr. Frodo!"

"No, Sam," Frodo said to himself.

"You know he won't give up, I hope," Luna said softly.

More splashing was heard. Luna let the boat turn.

"Go back, Sam! We're going to Mordor alone."

"Of course you are," Sam replied. "And I'm coming with you!"

"You can't swim!"

As if to make the point, Sam started trying to swim for the boat

"Sam!"

He'd begun to sink down under the surface of the water. Luna turned the boat around and headed for the spot.

"I'll hold it steady, Frodo. You get him," she said.

The Hobbit nodded. As they reached the location, Frodo leaned over the side of the boat and reached into the water for Sam's hand. He pulled the red-haired Hobbit from the river, dripping.

"I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise: 'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to. I don't mean to."

"Oh, Sam," Frodo said. Luna placed a hand on the soaked Hobbit's shoulder.

"You don't have to leave him, Sam." And she began to row, with Frodo's help on the other side of the boat.

* * *

><p>Hermione bowed her head as she watched the boat carrying Boromir's body drifted downstream. It was a very kingly sort of funeral, in her opinion. They had done this sort of thing years ago in the other world for great warriors, and still executed this practice in some countries.<p>

Aragorn strapped Boromir's armguards onto his own arms as they watched the boat drift away.

"Hurry! Frodo, Sam, and Lothrendis have reached the eastern shore," Legolas said, sliding the third of the four boats toward the water. Hermione simply shook her head lightly, a faint smile turning up the corners of her lips.

"You mean not to follow them?"

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands, Legolas," Aragorn said, standing from his place just under the tree-cover.

"Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed," Gimli said.

"Not if we hold true to each other," Aragorn said, putting a hand on Legolas's and Gimli's shoulders.

"Are you just a permanent pessimist?" Hermione said, clapping a hand on Gimli's back. Her other hand found Legolas's other shoulder. He barely acknowledged it.

"We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left," Aragorn said. "Leave all that can be spared behind." He walked away and sheathed his knife, a gift from the Galadhirrim. "Let us hunt some Orc."

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Maybe we can salvage some that seems to be useless with my bag," she said, putting a hand on the purple thing.

In the end, she had no choice but to admit that she could not fit anything that she thought they might have needed in her bag. It only took about five minutes' worth of a convincing argument from both Aragorn and Legolas that it was both illogical and impossible to take along the fourth Elvish boat.

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><p><strong>Please read and review.<strong>


	17. Four Hunters

**Yay! Chapter 17! The ending here is going to change up a bit. I changed my penname. The original was too plain and ordinary for me. The shorthand shall remain the same!**

**- xHx**

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><p>They had been tracking the Uruk-hai, as Hermione now knew the beasts were called, for three days and nights without so much as a moment of rest, save the few seconds it took for her to recover from her dizzy spells, which had grown frequent. These were the only indication they had that Ginny, Merry, and Pippin were still alive.<p>

At this point, however, Aragorn had his head upon a bare stone, listening to things Hermione couldn't even begin to understand. Her last dizzy spell had been almost a full day ago.

"Their pace has quickened," Aragorn finally said, lifting his head. "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!"

He began running. Hermione let Legolas rush past her, though he paused just a moment later and turned back. "Come on, Gimli!" he shouted.

Hermione just shook her head. Gimli was the slowest member of their small group. He also protested and complained the most.

"Just think of this, Gimli! Once we find them, we can sleep and eat all we want," she called back to the Dwarf, running to catch up to Legolas. Occasionally, the two Elves would make a game of it, a race to see who could overtake Aragorn the fastest. Legolas usually won, but she'd succeeded a couple of times.

* * *

><p>"Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall," Aragorn said. They stood between two rocky hills that made it seem like a roofless corridor. The Man had just picked up one of the brooches from Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel.<p>

"They may yet be alive," Legolas replied, taking a single glance at the brooch.

Hermione suddenly felt like the world was spinning. Her hand found the stone wall for support as Legolas hurried toward her, worry in his eyes.

"What do you see?" Aragorn asked.

Hermione shook her head. "It is not so much sight as feeling this time. Feeling and hearing." She closed her eyes. "The Uruk-hai were late for something. Someone was waiting for them here. Orcs, I think."

"What else?"

"Pippin was worried. Merry seemed hurt. They made him – Merry – drink something. It was vile," she muttered. "Ginny was not far from them. She was struggling against one of the Uruks, trying to break away from him. She was fairly bruised up. Pippin commented on it."

She opened her eyes. "The Orcs said something, the ones waiting. 'Our master grows impatient.' That's it, that's what he said."

Legolas and Aragorn both nodded, and Aragorn turned to Legolas, standing up, finally. "Less than a day ahead of us. Come on."

The three began to run, Hermione taking a sip from her flask of water and coming up beside Legolas.

She paused when she heard Gimli's groaning and the sound of his armor clattering against the stone hillside.

"Come, Gimli! We are gaining on them!" Legolas shouted. Hermione grinned and continued her sprint.

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><p>Not fifteen minutes later, they came to a stone outcropping, from which Hermione could see for miles. She looked over the landscape in absolute awe. She was first to reach it, and now stood above Legolas and Aragorn.<p>

"Rohan," the Man said, "home of the horse-lords. There is something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us."

Legolas ran ahead, down the rocky hillside. Hermione rolled her eyes and leapt down to the stone below her perch, running after the blonde Elf.

"What do you see, Legolas?" she called.

"The Uruks turn north-east," he shouted back. "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!"

"Saruman," Aragorn said, his eyes filled with some form of fear. Hermione knew why. As he said it, her heart filled with dread and her vision blurred.

* * *

><p><em>She no longer gazed upon the landscape of Rohan. Instead, she stood, dream-like, in a room of blackness with a tall man in a white cloak sitting upon a carved throne. She could hear nothing, but she knew who it was.<em>

_Saruman._

_Another man, this one in filthy brown rags, stood before him. He was saying something._

_When he pulled the knife from his waist, she flinched. She knew what he would do._

_He sliced his palm and clenched his fist. This time, she could read his lips._

"_**We will die…for Saruman!"**_

* * *

><p>"Hísiven," Legolas whispered as the girl opened her blue eyes.<p>

"Wild men," she muttered, pushing herself up to her feet.

Aragorn seemed to understand what she meant better than the Elf did. "What happened?" he said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"There was a knife…and blood. He said something." She closed her eyes for a second.

"What did he say?"

She shook her head. "It should not be important."

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><p>They ran through the night, chasing after the Uruks. As dawn approached, she and Legolas were in the middle of one of their competitions.<p>

She blew past him when he suddenly stopped and turned to gaze into the East. She stopped and turned back to him.

"A red sun rises," he said, almost to himself. "Blood has been spilled this night."

His words were like a sort of death-blow. Hermione's heart filled with ice. There was now true reason to worry.

When they came to a small hill, they stopped, for Aragorn had knelt down to pick something up. But he was interrupted by the sound of a horse. The Man motioned for the group to follow him and hide. Hermione did not hesitate.

She watched in awe, crouched behind Legolas, as a great number of Men on horseback rode past. They wore the clothes of war, and were heavily armed, so when Aragorn stood from their hiding place, she watched him for a moment in fear before she followed him and Legolas to the top of the hill.

"Riders of Rohan," Aragorn shouted. "What news from the Mark?"

The riders turned around. Hermione, still in awe, watched the speed and grace of their steeds as they turned and came to surround the four travelers. She only realized that the four of them were in real danger when the riders lowered their spear-points toward their faces. She stood essentially back-to-back with Gimli.

"What business does a Man, two Elves, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?"

One of the riders had come around to speak to them. Hermione still had her back to him. She felt almost too threatened by the spears to do more than stand still until Legolas's hand touched her back. Only then did she turn around.

"Speak quickly!" the horseman said.

"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine," Gimli said. Hermione put a hand to her forehead. Of course Gimli would be the first one to try and say something insulting!

The horseman handed his spear to the rider next to him and jumped down from his steed, walking closer to the four travelers.

"I would cut off your head, Dwarf," he said, "if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

His statement drew rage from Legolas. He drew an arrow from his quiver, notched it, and drew back the string before he said to the horseman, "You would die before your stroke fell!"

Hermione ducked slightly as spear-points drew near to Legolas's head; reacting on some forgotten instinct, she drew her wand, but held it against her forearm, hidden from view. It was a trick Molly Weasley had shown her before her fifth year. The woman had told her that it was always better to have an advantage over your enemies, no matter what it meant.

Aragorn, the only one who really maintained a level head, put a hand to Legolas's bow and forcing him to lower it before he began to speak.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, Hísiven of Rivendell, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm," he said. "We are friends of Rohan, and of Théoden, your King."

"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe," he said. The horseman lifted his helmet. "Not even his own kin."

The other horsemen lifted their spears. Hermione's strange feeling of dread eased slightly, but not enough.

"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan, and for that we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

The Man finished with a look of severe disgust and hatred, directly aimed at Legolas. Hermione's fingers twitched.

"We are no spies," Aragorn said. "We track a party of Uruk-hai Westward across the plain. They have taken three of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed; we slaughtered them during the night."

"But there were two Hobbits," Gimli began. Hermione put a hand to his shoulder. "Did you see Two Hobbits and a young woman with them?"

"The Hobbits would be small, only children to your eyes," Aragorn added.

The Man looked uncomfortable as he shifted his footing and shook his head. "We left none alive."

Hermione gasped involuntarily.

"We piled the carcasses and burned them."

"Dead?"

The horseman nodded. "I am sorry."

Legolas put his arm on Gimli's shoulders. Hermione, afraid to return her wand to its place at her belt, placed her hand on his back, her breath hitching with a sob.

The horseman whistled suddenly and turned to his left. "Hasufel! Cúron! Arod!" he called, extending a hand. Three horses, two with saddles and one without, cantered into the gathering. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell." He turned back to his own steed as the black horse without a saddle came up to her. She took the mare's reigns in her right hand and patted her snout. She had a white blaze upon her forehead, the rough shape of a crescent moon, and a sort of look in her eyes that reminded her of Minerva McGonagall.

"Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride North!" the man said.

As the horses and their riders left the group in the dust, Hermione felt a traitorous tear slip from her eyes. She blinked fiercely, trying to banish them all as she mounted Cúron.

"Are you sure bareback is how you wish to ride?" Legolas said as he helped Gimli up.

"It is how I have always preferred to ride. It's a lot smoother to me," she said, smirking.

* * *

><p>They rode to the source of the column of smoke a lot faster than she would have liked, and when they reached the pile of burnt bodies, she was overwhelmed by the scent. She leapt down from Cúron's back and covered her mouth and nose slightly. Burning flesh never smelled good.<p>

Gimli began to search through the wreckage with his axe, as Hermione leaned against Cúron, feeling the start of one of her dizzy spells.

"It's one of their wee belts," Gimli said. This came through the haze of shouts and screams playing in reverse in her mind.

"They live," she whispered. No one heard her. Another sound came through the haze. It was Aragorn, screaming in anguish, thinking Merry, Pippin, and Ginny dead.

"They are alive," she said, her voice a bit stronger. She began to move, her eyes open but not seeing that which was before her. Instead, she saw a nighttime battleground.

"They laid side-by-side, all three of them, Rosmir between Merry and Pippin, over there." She pointed vaguely in the direction. "Pippin barely escaped being trod by a horse.

"They crawled along, wrists bound together, until an Uruk was struck down in their path. Rosmir retrieved something from his corpse. It was her wand."

"_This belongs to me, filth,"_ Hermione heard her friend say, as if through a wall.

"She used her wand to sever the bonds holding the Hobbits' wrists together. You'll find them here." She nudged some grass with the toe of her left boot. "She crawled along while they walked, now ducking under horses, until she found an axe embedded into the ground. She used this to slice her own bonds. It should be right…here." She completed her statement when her boot struck upon metal.

"_Into the forest, Pippin!"_ Merry shouted.

"They ran this way," she said, the battle turning into fog once more before it dissolved, "into this forest."

"The Forest of Fangorn," Aragorn said, much closer than she would have thought.

"Fangorn?" Gimli said. "What madness drove them in there?"

"A promise of refuge, most likely. An escape from their captors and from an unknown force that could be friend or foe," Hermione said, placing a light hand upon Gimli's back. "Rosmir would not lead Merry and Pippin into danger. Trust me on that, my friend. She is far smarter than she occasionally acts."

* * *

><p>Hermione walked ahead of everyone else, trying to understand the feeling in the forest. Every once in a while, she'd jump at the sound of a tree groaning, but otherwise she was lost in her own swirling thoughts.<p>

"Orc blood." Gimli's voice came through the filter of her thoughts. They started running again, hopping across a stream while Aragorn tried to make sense of what he saw.

"These are strange tracks," he said. Hermione knelt down to inspect what he saw. It was indeed strange.

"The air is so close in here."

"This forest is old," Legolas said. "Very old. Full of memory…and anger." Hermione stood, walked over to him, and placed a hand on his arm, very lightly.

The trees groaned again, and she heard Gimli raise his axe.

"The trees are speaking to each other," Legolas said, glancing at his female companion with the slightest of smirks before turning to look at Gimli. "They have feelings, my friend. The Elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."

"Talking trees," Gimli said in a skeptical tone. Hermione rolled her eyes. "What do trees have to talk about, besides the consistency of squirrel droppings?"

They continued walking, when suddenly Legolas said something to Aragorn in Sindarin. He replied, and finally Legolas said something in the common tongue.

"The White Wizard approaches."

Hermione tightened her grip upon her wand, thinking through a dozen spells before settling on what she would use.

"Do not let him speak," Aragorn said, "he will put a spell on us. We must be quick." He halfway drew his sword.

Legolas prepared an arrow to release against the villain.

As a group, they all spun around.

"_Incarcerous!"_ Hermione shouted. A thick black rope flew from her wand tip, wrapping around the glowing white figure. But it dissolved into smoke after only a second. Legolas released his arrow, only to have it struck from the air. Gimli threw his axe, and the same thing happened. Aragorn's sort glowed red with flame, and the Man dropped it.

"You are tracking the footsteps of a young woman and two young Hobbits," the figure said. His voice was creepy.

"Where are they?" Aragorn shouted.

"They passed this way, the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

The glowing white dimmed, and they say the White Wizard's face.

It was Gandalf.

"Forgive me," Legolas said, dropping to one knee with his head bowed. "I mistook you for Saruman."

"I am Saruman," Gandalf said, "Or rather, Saruman as he should have been."

"You fell."

Hermione closed her eyes and sat down, her mind far from where they five were, in a dark place filled with sorrow. She could see the sorrow; it was black and blue, the color of a severe bruise. She could focus on nothing; the sorrow confused her so deeply.

* * *

><p>"One stage of your journey is over. Another begins," Gandalf said. The five were walking under the trees, leaping around a bit whenever it was needed. "We must travel to Edoras with all speed."<p>

"Edoras? That is no short distance!"

"We hear of trouble in Rohan," Aragorn said. "It goes ill with the King."

"Yes, and it will not be easily cured."

"Then we have run all this way for nothing? How we can leave Merry, Pippin, and Rosmir in this horrid, dark, dank, tree-infested –"

Gimli's string of insults and complaint was cut short by the trees.

"I mean, charming…quite charming…forest."

"It was more than mere chance that brought our friends to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years. Their arrival will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains."

"In one thing you have not changed, dear friend," Aragorn said. Gandalf turned slightly to look at him. "You still speak in riddles."

The two shared a laugh. Hermione, in a mood to have a small competition, playfully punched Legolas's arm. The two, so distracted were they by their playing scuffle, did not notice that their companions were leaving until Gimli was nearly hidden by the trees. Hermione smacked Legolas over the back of the head and took off running. They were like two ten-year-old kids, carefree and wild at heart.

* * *

><p><strong>I kind of cut it off here. The introduction to Shadowfax kinda fell to the side, even though I had plans for the scene. Yes, Legolas is quite childish in my mind. He has every reason in the world to be!<strong>


	18. Edoras

**I am perfectly aware that I promised to put everyone in the story. Hermione will keep in touch with Luna a little, but not just yet. Most everything that happens from here on out that I deem important happens with Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, Hermione, and Gandalf, except for little bits and pieces of actual scenes with Luna and Ginny. :)**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>The group of five travelers rode across the hills. Hermione and Legolas still engaged in their competitions, but this time they forced Gimli to join them, for he rode behind Legolas. The Dwarf kept up his string of complaints about the speeds at which the two Elves raced, but they didn't really listen to what he said. Hermione felt like a little kid again. But, finally, they had to give it up. Arod and Cúron were too closely matched, especially when the mare took an opportunity to jump. She was very skilled at it. The group paused in sight of a city built on a hill with a wall surrounding the very bottom of it.<p>

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld," Gandalf said. The two Elves and their horses were beside the Wizard and Shadowfax, his steed, on either side; Aragorn was on Legolas's other side. "There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown."

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she shook her head. "This place is shrouded in blue-black sorrow. Anger, red and hot, flows here like an underground river, kept just at bay by the sadness the people feel."

Gandalf nodded slightly, acknowledging her words, before he continued. "Be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here." And they took off at a full gallop once more. Hermione couldn't shake the feeling they would be walking into a trap. While moving, she removed her wand from her belt and slid it down her boot. She didn't want it removed from her possession.

* * *

><p>They rode at a slow trot up the hill. Hermione had her hood up, keeping her face hidden from view, but she was still very nervous. Every single woman they passed was dressed in a simple sort of thing, with a skirt sweeping the ground, and she was on horseback, wearing a rather short skort and leggings with a bow, quiver, and pair of knives on her back. Talk about embarrassing.<p>

As they reached the highest point of the city and dismounted, her fingertips brushed over the mithril pendant she wore. She was more nervous than Ron face-to-face with Aragog. A place like this…who knew what they'd do to her?

The group ascended the stairs, as the doors blew open and a man with long, wiry red hair and beard walked out, his purpose obvious.

"I cannot allow you before Théoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame," he said. "By order of Grima Wormtongue." They all glanced at the old Wizard. He nodded.

Hermione, with the faintest roll of her eyes, handed over her bow, knives, and quiver, completely ignoring her wand, shoved into her boot. It was most likely they wouldn't see it, either.

"Your staff," the man said directly to Gandalf.

Gandalf took a moment, as if trying to phrase something correctly, and finally said, "You would not part an old man from his walking stick." Hermione stifled a giggle. The term _old_ did not apply to Gandalf whatsoever. Sure, he _looked_ old, but he sure as hell never acted like it. But, the man assented to let him keep it. She suddenly felt nervous about this choice of Gandalf's, like they would most likely not succeed in their goal here.

Hermione walked between Aragorn and Gimli. Upon entry into the hall, she felt it was safe to toss back her hood, which she did. Several people gave her very strange looks, but she ignored it. She'd become accustomed to it.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden King," Gandalf announced. Hermione was a little too nervous about their current predicament. The king did not exactly look friendly, and neither did the man leaning against the arm of his throne. She took his position to mean that he was an advisor to the king, and his appearance was even less friendly than the king's. He reminded her of Peter Pettigrew, of Wormtail. She now walked between Gimli and Legolas, passing by some sort of a pit.

"Why should I welcome you," the king said, barely raising his head, "Gandalf Stormcrow?"

"A just question, my liege," the man in black said, standing up and walking down from beside the king's throne. "Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear. Láthspell I name him. Ill news is an ill guest."

"Be silent," Gandalf ordered. "Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm." He put the end of his staff into the man's face.

"His staff," the man began to say, cowering away from the Wizard. "I told you to take the Wizard's staff!"

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Hermione found themselves assailed with men. Hermione found that fighting with just her hands was just as easy for her as the bow or her knives. Of course, she used her feet a lot more than her fists. Very agile, she was, kicking three men in the nose at full height within about ten seconds. Elbows were another advantage. She might be a woman, but she was proving to be a difficult opponent.

She did not listen to a word Gandalf said as he walked calmly through the fight. Ironically, it was fun.

"Hearken to me!" Gandalf said. His attention was fully on the king. Hermione's fingers twitched. She wanted to yank out her wand and curse the idiotic man in all black into oblivion. "I release you from the spell."

The king laughed. It was a strange sort of sound. "You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey."

The Wizard threw off his cloak. The white robes glowed a bit. It was, admittedly, a bit disturbing. "I will draw you, Saruman, as poison is drawn from a wound."

A minute passed. The king hit the back of the throne and then leaned forward. Hermione suddenly felt the room spin on its axis and collapsed. Only one person noticed this. Legolas. He caught her and eased her against a pillar, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, which danced behind her lids as if she were simply asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Hermione stood in the same room as before. It was a little clearer, a little sharper than it had been the previous time. The Wizard, Saruman, stood near a podium, his hand raised over a misty black orb.<em>

_She drew near it, looking into it for a moment. She could see what the Wizard saw with his closed eyes, through the eyes of Théoden King. Gandalf dominated the vision, but she could see Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, and herself behind him. This had made her pass out._

_The scene she watched continued to grow intense as Legolas made a sudden, inexplicable move toward the king. She couldn't hear a word that was said._

* * *

><p>"If I go, Théoden dies," the Wizard said through the king.<p>

"You did not kill me," Gandalf began, "you will not kill him."

"What of the pretty Elf-girl? What will you do if she does not wake?"

Legolas's eyes grew wide. He would threaten Hísiven? Without thinking, he took three swift steps toward the king, his hands clenched tightly into fists. It took him only a moment to regain his composure, but the moment seemed to stretch on forever. Slowly, he loosened his hands and relaxed.

"Rohan is mine."

Gandalf struck him with the top of his staff, upon the forehead.

* * *

><p><em>Saruman flew back from the orb. Hermione followed him, studying the man who would try to execute her in this form.<em>

"_Do not think you are beyond my reach, Hísiven Rhovanel," he said. "I will kill you. What of your Prince of Mirkwood then? Do you think he will sit around and wait for your return from the war you are meant to fight?"_

"_I know he will, because he will know that I am truly part of this world," she replied, finally aware that he knew of her presence and relatively okay with it. She felt a faint pull upon her soul as she spoke and knew Gandalf was pulling her back. "You don't know what you're dealing with when it comes to me, so I wouldn't even try." It began to blur at the edges, the tower room, and she knew it was time to depart._

* * *

><p>The first thing she was aware of was the warmth and strength of a man's arms around her. She muttered under her breath that she would be all right to just lie there forever, but that was not likely to happen. Finally, she opened her eyes. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and a woman with blonde hair stood over her, which meant that Legolas was the one who held her in the hall, against the pillar. The man in black with the grease-covered hair was nowhere to be seen.<p>

She laughed. "I missed an interesting scene, I'm guessing."

Aragorn laughed as well, kneeling down next to her. "It's good to see your eyes open, my friend."

"That it is, Aragorn," Gandalf added. None of them were interested in what she had seen. The woman helped her up slowly.

"What's your name?" Hermione said, halfway leaning on the woman.

"My name is Éowyn," she said softly. "And yours?"

"Hísiven," she replied. "You're a very pretty girl, you know that?"

Éowyn laughed. The sound sparkled. "Thank you, Hísiven, but I do not know how to take that compliment."

* * *

><p>The two ladies began to talk. Éowyn reminded Hermione of Ginny, and being reminded of Ginny wasn't something she wanted. She hated not knowing the safety of her best friend.<p>

"I saw how you liked waking up beside him," the blonde maiden said. The two sat in a small bedroom, Hermione wearing a borrowed skirt over her war-clothes. She had her bow, arrows, and knives back, and her wand was tucked into her belt once again. "There has to be something to that."

"It's possible," Hermione replied, dodging the question.

"You know I'll find out soon enough," Éowyn said.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to tell you right now."

"My Lady."

The two girls turned to the doorway and saw a tall man in armor standing there.

"What is it, Rigwyn?" Éowyn said, standing up now.

"You are needed in the main hall. Both of you are."

"Thank you."

The two started walking, Hermione with a hand on her belt, which proved unnecessary upon entering the main hall. Two young children, a boy and a girl, sat there. They had been given a bowl of soup each. Éowyn knelt to speak to the little girl, as Hermione sat down across from the children. The boy, Éothain, as he said his name was between spoonfuls of soup, was the elder, and he did not seem all that willing to talk. Freda, the girl, was willing, though she asked constantly for her mother. She seemed more willing to talk to Éowyn, though.

It took some time, but they finally got the story. The first vision Hermione had had into the tower at Isengard was a definitive fact.

"They had no warning," Éowyn said, standing. "They were unarmed. Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go. Rick, cot, and tree."

Hermione turned on the bench to watch the woman. Legolas stood across the hall, his eyes locked on her, Aragorn was smoking from a pipe, and Gimli was eating and drinking. Of course.

"This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash," Gandalf told the king. "All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron. Ride out and meet him head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight."

"You have two-thousand good men riding north as we speak. Éomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king," Aragorn added.

"They will be three hundred leagues from here by now. Éomer cannot help us." The king began to pace. "I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war."

"Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not."

Hermione shook her head, putting her elbows upon the table and letting her forehead thump against her palms. _I wish you hadn't said that, Aragorn,_ she thought.

"When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan."

"Then what is the king's decision?"

Théoden was silent for a moment before he walked out of the room, leaving them all to wonder.


	19. I Have To

**FINALLY! Luna content! Sorry it took so long. Any conversations you were hoping for between Luna and Hermione, or Luna and Ginny for that matter, have officially been scrapped. I really had hoped for more, but...oh, well! Everything underlined is with Luna.**

**On a side note, I've noticed that I have only 22 reviews, and that some people who added this to their story alerts did not review. I'm not mad, just a little sad. I'd like to know what you're thinking!**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p><span>The going had been far slower than Luna had expected. Sam did not listen to any of her ideas, though Frodo was quick to give an excuse for his friend and gardener's antics.<span>

"He's always like this," Frodo would say. "His father told him stories when he was younger, but he always found time to come over to my Uncle Bilbo's house to hear his stories. He always wanted to see other places in this world of ours."

Luna just smiled and took it to mean that Sam meant no offense by it. But then, of course, Gollum joined their small company, and Sam seemed anxious for one of Luna's ideas. But she would not give any.

Every night when the two Hobbits and the odd creature that is Gollum laid down to rest, she pulled out her gift from Lady Galadriel, the Orb of Iswamande. She would look into it to find out what their friends and former companions were doing.

This journey was going to take a lot more strength than she had.

* * *

><p>"Helm's Deep!"<p>

Gandalf was outraged, to say the very least. Hermione could hear him all the way in the stables, where she was busying herself with brushing Cúron's mane. Everyone else there occasionally threw her a dark sort of stare.

She only looked up for a second when Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli came through the stables. When Shadowfax blew past her, she didn't even glance up.

Then two men holding ropes led a dark horse, not black, but dark, into the stable. The stallion was very upset. Cúron was disturbed by the stallion's loud whinnying. Hermione had no choice but to stay with the mare and calm her. Aragorn, however, approached the stallion.

A few moments later, the stallion's cries quieted, and Cúron, too, began to calm. Hermione caressed her snout and smiled gently. "You see? It's all right. Nothing's wrong."

A few hours later, Hermione was back in her simple battle clothes, on Cúron's back, riding from the city of Edoras. Legolas and Gimli were just ahead of her; Freda and Éothain were not far behind.

With Hermione rode two young girls, whom she had given nicknames, for their real names were far too much for her. The younger had hair of bright red and turquoise eyes, while the elder had hair of light brown and clear, dark brown eyes. Hermione nicknamed them Arya and Anaya, after a pair of sisters she had known before her acceptance to Hogwarts. They were fraternal twins, just three days older than her.

It was going to be a long journey.

* * *

><p><span>Sam, Frodo, Luna, and Gollum – who now kept calling himself Sméagol – were in a hilled area. Sam was cooking a pair of rabbits that Gollum had brought. Luna was gazing into the little orb, watching Ginny, Merry, and Pippin interacting with what looked like a giant, walking, talking tree.<span>

She didn't notice Frodo walk away.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam called. She tucked the orb into her pack and followed them to an incredible sight.

"Who are they?"

"Wicked Men. Servants of Sauron. They are called to Mordor. The Dark One is gathering all armies to him," Gollum said. "It won't be long now. He will soon be ready."

"Ready to do what?"

"To make his war. The last war that will cover all the world in Shadow."

"We've got to get moving," Luna said.

"Come on, Sam."

"Mr. Frodo, look!"

The whole party turned.

"It's an oliphaunt. No one at home will believe this."

Gollum turned and ran, and warriors appeared everywhere, loosing arrows at the army crossing the path. Luna ran down into the fray.

"Miss Luna!" Sam cried. She disappeared from their sight. They did not see what happened, but she was struck by a stray arrow from one of Faramir's men.

* * *

><p>Hermione held loosely to the two girls, riding to Gimli's left.<p>

"It's true, you don't see many Dwarf women," the Dwarf said. "And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men. And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women, and that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" Hermione, Arya, and Anaya laughed. "Which is, of course, ridiculous."

The Dwarf gave a shout as the horse he was riding took off all of a sudden, which led to him falling from it. Anaya was in charge of the reins to guide Cúron, which, she had explained to them, was necessary, should a dizzy spell begin.

Legolas was near. She knew that by some forgotten instinct that had recently surfaced, which was proving to be very useful. Before leaving Edoras, the two had chosen a signal for her to give if she felt dizzy, so he could catch her. She would trust only him for this purpose.

As they rode across this stretch of land, it started. She lifted her left hand in a slightly clenched shape, as if she were reaching for something. This was the signal. She heard Arod coming up to her left, just before she went limp, luckily falling halfway across both horses. Arya and Anaya did not panic. They had been told that this was normal for her.

Five minutes later, her eyes opened. She shook her head slightly and, with a little assistance from Legolas, righted herself. Cúron was unfazed. She and Arod kept a steady pace, side-by-side.

"What did you see?" Legolas asked, gently touching the girl's cheek.

"Lothrendis, Sam, and Frodo. Things have…changed for them." She pushed her hair over her ears, momentarily ignoring the look in Legolas's eyes. "I'm glad we've discussed these previously, otherwise I would have fallen off of Cúron and likely injured myself."

"It's nothing, Hísiven. I would have done it without prior discussion. It's to be expected."

The brunette looked over at the blonde with a startled expression. Either he was a mind reader, or he sincerely believed that it was his duty to protect her. It was probably the latter, since she was the Wild Star of the Elves and he was the Prince of Northern Mirkwood, so she shook herself and just kept looking forward. But she could not ignore that she **did** feel drawn to him. She took a deep breath and hugged the girls who sat in front of her, taking the reins back for a time.

For just a moment, she thought back to the image that had come to her when they left Lothlórien in the boats. It was an impossibility, of course, but in the corner of her mind, she wondered how it would feel to walk down the aisle in a gown of pure white, to see the triumph in his eyes.

_I have got to let it go._

* * *

><p>When the column of women, children, and soldiers stopped to rest, Hermione returned Anaya and Arya to their mother. The girls' father had died recently, though both girls were stoic about it. If this had been the other world and they had been young witches, Hermione would have said they would be destined for incredible things. Anaya was likely to be a little heartbreaker, no matter how you put it or what world she was in.<p>

But Hermione had something to do.

"Legolas?"

They stood together, tending their horses, though they were there more to talk than anything.

"Something is troubling you, Hísiven," he said. He didn't even ask. He had to be a mind reader.

"Yes, there is. Something important," she muttered, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Aragorn doesn't even know about this, unless Gandalf told him. I have to die in this war, Legolas."

She opened her eyes to see the Elf's bright blue eyes full of pain and fear.

"It is a necessary action, because I cannot truly be here without letting everyone else back into their world. Unless I die in this world, my friends will all be trapped in a sort of in-between place. Currently that just includes Ron and Luna."

"Lothrendis and Rothrandir, you mean? Lothrendis has died?"

"Yes, that's who I mean. She ran into a fight without knowing the consequences and was struck down by an arrow. Sam and Frodo do not know that she is dead; they think she is a captive."

They looked at each other intently. Legolas eventually accepted it, but he did not look all that happy about it. But then, she wasn't that good at reading his emotions. It didn't help her that he never spoke of his emotions.

"If you must do it, then I must come to terms with it. I only ask that I be allowed to say goodbye."

"If you do, then every moment will be a goodbye, for we will not know when it is coming," she said, shaking her head slightly. "It is best to live as if the next moment, one of us would be struck with an arrow or run through with a sword or trampled by a horse."

And then, without prelude or any hint whatsoever, he kissed her.

His lips were surprisingly soft, like the leaves of a rose under a midday sun in spring, his hands gentle as he pulled her to him. There was no fighting it now; she was falling for him. She had been falling for him since he'd arrived in Imladris and even before that, in her childhood dreams. But this was different. That had been slow, gentle. This hit her with the force of a semi truck speeding down a steep hill. Before it had been much more like childish banter between best friends of the opposite sex, but after this there was no way to get back to that. She gave in, wrapping her hands around his shoulders and kissing him back fervently.

_Nothing's ever going to be the same_, she thought. _Guess I'd better get used to this now, because it feels like there's going to be a lot more of this in the near future._

* * *

><p><strong>YAY! A kiss scene!<strong>

**Just thought I'd throw in a completely irrelavent allusion to another fandom I read but am adamant never to write fanfiction for, seeing as the first time I tried, I killed off a lead character. Oh, well. Cookies for anyone who guesses the reference! Hint; it doesn't even connect to a kiss scene.**

**- xHx**

**P.S.; Any guesses before the edit will be discounted. You also have to have the book title, the chapter number, the chapter title, and a basic summary of what the reference is about. Thank you.**


	20. Under Attack

**All right, this chapter is a lot shorter than I'd originally hoped for. I hope you forgive me. It's somewhat filler for the relationship, somewhat a foreboding sort of thing. Hermione is a lot more powerful than she expects. Oh, what's that at the end? A surprise?**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>They were on the trail again, on their way to the refuge of Helm's Deep. Legolas was far, far ahead of the group, acting as a sentry. It was true that he had the best eyesight of anyone of the group. Why Hermione had let him do this, however, was beyond her.<p>

Two of the Rohirrim, one of whom she now knew by name – Háma – rode past him as she watched. Something was off.

"Lady Hísiven, are you all right?"

Anaya had quickly learned that Hermione had some sense of when things were to happen, and knew the cues: shifting eyes, tensing arms, clenched jaws, and a faint twitch to her left eyebrow.

"I don't know, Anaya. I really don't know," she muttered, her eyes fixed on Legolas. It was him she worried for. She knew it made absolutely no sense to worry, that he could handle himself, but she could not help it.

She heard the screams before she saw Legolas leap from his perch upon a large rock.

"A scout!" she heard him call back.

_Oh, damn it all, what next?_

Aragorn had run to see what the commotion was about. He came running back, just as Théoden coaxed his horse closer to the front of the line.

"What is it? What do you see?" the king asked.

"Warg! We're under attack!"

Anaya and Arya screamed. She held tightly to the sisters as she took the reins from them, guiding Cúron toward Aragorn.

"I will not fight at your side this time, Aragorn," she said. "Their mother trusts me beyond belief, and they tire so quickly. Good luck to you."

"And the same to you, Hísiven," he said, now mounting his horse.

Everything was chaos. Hermione could only hope that Legolas would understand why she did not fight at his side.

"All riders to the head of the column!"

Hermione ignored the insistences of the women around her to fight and paused beside Éowyn, just as the king reached her.

"You must lead the people to Helm's Deep, and make haste," the king said to his young niece.

"I can fight!" the blonde insisted.

"No!" Théoden seemed angry and worried at the same time that she had suggested this. "You must do this, for me." He looked up at Hermione then. "I am told you can protect the people better than most anyone else. Keep them safe."

Hermione nodded, and the king turned and rode away.

"Make for the lower ground! Stay together!" These were the words Éowyn and Hermione said, urging the people down the hillside.

"Anaya, I need you to hold onto Cúron's reins. She knows to follow the people. You simply need to keep her calm." The girl nodded and took the reins as Hermione closed her eyes, letting the need to see what happened overtake her.

* * *

><p><em>She found her spirit-self rooted to the spot. This didn't feel right. It was something to come.<em>

"_Aragorn!" Legolas shouted. Gimli echoed him questioningly._

_An Orc began laughing, the sound strangled by the blood in his throat._

_Gimli put his axe-blade close to the Orc's throat. "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing."_

"_He's –" The Orc hacked a couple of times, "– dead." Legolas did not appear to believe it. "He took a little tumble off the cliff."_

_Legolas paused before dropping to his knees and gripping the Orc by the front of his clothes. "You lie!"_

_The Orc then died. Hermione shook. This could not be happening. But it was. Legolas dropped his grip on the Orc and looked into his hand._

_The Evenstar pendant, the gift Arwen had given to Aragorn._

Damn it all, _Hermione muttered. Legolas was walking away from the corpse and she knew she had to leave. Her feet, now freed, led her to Legolas's side, and she placed her phantom hand on his back. _I am sorry, my love.

* * *

><p>Arya was tugging on her sleeves when she opened her eyes. They could see the refuge from where they were, but it was distant still.<p>

"We're almost there, my lady," Anaya said.

"Thank you, Anaya. I expect we'll be there before nightfall."

She smiled, trying to keep the same sort of look to her. It wouldn't do to have people suspecting that she knew more about what was happening than she should.

* * *

><p>Why were trees so irritating, especially the ones that talked and moved? At least Treebeard wasn't trying to rip her apart, like the Whomping Willow would. He just let her ride on his branches, which was not exactly comfortable. At least she was with Merry and Pippin! They could distract her, if nothing else would!<p>

"Rosmir," Merry began, "what's it like in your home?"

"It's a lot different than it is here, Merry. I'm the only daughter in my family, after a string of six boys. My brothers' names are Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, the twins, and Ron, in order from oldest to youngest. Bill's getting married next summer; Charlie doesn't seem likely to ever get married; Percy's an absolute prat that I don't expect to get married; Fred and George run a joke shop, so I expect at least one of them to get married; and then there's Ron. I think he and Luna have a shot, because Hermione is unlikely to stay in the other world," Ginny said. "Of course, since Bill's marrying Fleur Delacour, I fear that my privacy will shrink considerably around the wedding."

The three were silent for a time, and then Ginny added, "You two remind me of Fred and George."

"Do you miss them?" Pippin asked, leaning towards her.

"I don't miss their incessant pranks, but I miss them. Would you like to hear a song from home?"

The two Hobbits looked at each other and nodded vigorously in agreement.

"I'm only going to sing part of it, so don't expect anything overly brilliant," Ginny said. Then she cleared her throat and began to sing, a Muggle song that Hermione had taught her at the Burrow over the summer before her own fifth year.

"_Out on the streets, that's where we'll meet  
>You make the night, I always cross the line<br>Tightened our belts, abuse ourselves  
>Get in our way, we'll put you on your shelf<br>Another day, some other way  
>We're gonna go, but then we'll see you again<br>I've had enough, we've had enough  
>Cold in vain, she said<br>_

_I knew right from the beginning  
>That you would end up winnin'<br>I knew right from the start  
>You'd put an arrow through my heart<br>_

_Round and round  
>With love we'll find a way just give it time<br>Round and round  
>What comes around goes around<br>I'll tell you why."_

The a cappella performance was not unnoticed by Treebeard.

"You have a beautiful voice," he said.

Ginny, her head tilted like a bird's, blinked twice and replied, "Thank you…I think."

"He isn't kidding, Rosmir," Pippin said, reaching his hand out, palm flat and up. Ginny had told them all about high-fives and how common they were in her world. They had adapted to it and actually seemed to enjoy it. She slapped his hand with a grin as he continued with his statement. "You do have a wonderful voice."

"Thank you, Pip," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>The song Ginny sang the second verse, pre-chorus and chorus of is <em>Round and Round<em> by Ratt. It's a favorite of mine and I just felt like throwing it in. I am trying to keep the timeline accurate. The song came out in the eighties, which means Ginny would know it.**

**The next chapter promises to be a beauty.**

**- xHx**


	21. Behind The Wall

**Here we go with Hermione's take on Helm's Deep. Any Elvish spoken between Legolas and Hermione will be in quotations, but italicized, like the following.**

"_I have missed you."_

**Since I've been experiencing problems finding a proper translator for Sindarin, I've been using Quenya, mostly. Unfortunately, Legolas speaks Sindarin. So, from now on, any lines shared between the two that require Elvish will have it completely translated. She picks up on grammar easily enough.**

**Enough of a rant! Read! Review! Love me!**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>Hermione hated to admit it, but Helm's Deep was more impressive for the fact that it was built into a cliff-side and extended into the caves inside of the cliff. She busied herself with sorting provisions for the caves, including some of the things she'd stuffed into her beaded bag. Apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, grapes, limes, and even a watermelon she'd put into her bag before leaving Hogwarts.<p>

The watermelon reminded her of the group she'd tried desperately to start in her fourth year after seeing Barty Crouch, Sr.'s treatment of Winky, the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare. S.P.E.W. How absolutely ironic it was that she was, by blood, an Elf of another realm. No one would believe her, of course, unless they saw her pointed ears and her glowing diamond pendant. She wouldn't keep them, but at least she could imagine Draco Malfoy's reaction when she told him that her blood was far purer than his.

_Pureblood prejudices never made sense to me, anyway,_ she thought as she instructed Éowyn on how to cut the watermelon properly. _I guess this'll show them that you can't trust your first impressions, or your beliefs about a certain person._

Éothain and Freda had enjoyed a reunion with their mother upon arrival in the fortress.

"Make way for the king!"

They both stood up upon hearing Gamling's voice.

"Make way for Théoden! Make way for the king!"

The two ran for the nearest place they could easily meet up with the party of riders. She could see Legolas from where they were. Hermione knew Eowyn would be unhappy, but would have no words of comfort for her. Legolas would remain stoic and strong, as he always had, even when they lost Gandalf (though at least that time he showed his feelings a little). She had seen his face when the Orc spoke of Aragorn's fall.

She ran to Legolas. He seemed to understand that she knew. Neither spoke. They stood there, still as stone, for a moment, lost in each other's eyes. Legolas's gleaming blue eyes spoke volumes.

Finally, Hermione had to break the silence of their moment. She decided to show him that she'd finally finished the book Galadriel had given her.

"_Are you unhurt?" _she said, brushing off his shoulder faintly.

He smiled, a sad imitation of the smile she had seen only twice since meeting him. _"You have practiced. I am unhurt."_

Hermione nodded. _"I am glad, but I spoke of more than the physical."_

Legolas's expression turned vaguely sorrowful. _"It is manageable."_

"_Are you sure of that? I saw your face when you learned of what happened."_

"_I thought I felt you."_ A little smile turned up the corners of his lips. _"It seems there is no hope left for us."_

"_That is untrue, Legolas. There is always hope. There is always a light in the darkness of despair."_

"_Aragorn is lost. Who do we hold hope for now?"_

"_Trust in me, Legolas,"_ she said with her hands on his shoulders and her eyes locked on his. She was still only five feet, four inches tall. Legolas was over six feet tall. _"I have seen things that do contradict what the Orc said. We cannot tell anyone of these. They will not believe us."_ She closed her eyes. _"I have seen other things as well."_

"_What have you seen?"_

"_Five others from the other world are in this world, five who would seek my death. They are one woman and four men. The woman is vicious and…insane. One of the men is little more than a boy. The other three are nearly as cruel as the woman, but she is the worst. She will torture and kill every last man, woman, and child she finds."_ Hermione opened her eyes, finally, meeting his worried gaze. _"Éowyn believes me, but she does not think Théoden will allow me to fight. It is our only recourse that I fight."_

"_Then you must fight,"_ he said simply. "Don't worry, Hísiven. I will keep you safe."

One of the Men glanced at them, but then dismissed it, pretending he hadn't heard Legolas's statement and did not see his gentle fingers sweeping Hermione's dark hair from her eyes.

"Maybe I should cut my hair," she muttered. "It's too much to manage sometimes."

"I like your hair," he whispered. "Keep it as it is."

"It will be long again soon." She fidgeted with the hem of her tunic. She hadn't felt like this since Viktor Krum had asked her to the Yule Ball, but she hadn't acted like such a fool then. Legolas made her nervous. That was the only way she could explain it, and no wonder! He was sure of himself but not cocky, attractive but not vain, and, most of all, honorable and strong. He was everything she could possibly want and more.

* * *

><p>After the sun had set, the two found themselves just behind the wall, near the drain grate, quietly talking and discussing strategic specifications.<p>

"Perhaps I could strengthen the walls with magic, make it harder to break them. We know they will try that," she said, placing a hand on the solid rock.

"I don't know how much better you can get than stone," he replied, placing his hand over hers.

Hermione barely blinked before she turned to him and said, "That's it!" She turned, her hand still under his. "We know they'll use a battering ram, right?"

"It is likely."

"Turn the wooden door into stone! Make it harder to get through!"

Legolas's eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"It's a simple one-word spell. All I need to do is…convince Théoden that having a door of solid stone is an advantage over them."

"That is not likely." His fingertips caressed her cheek gently. _"It is no wonder you are the Wild Star of our people. You are both beautiful and headstrong."_

Hermione laughed. _"I cannot disagree with you."_ She touched her fingertips to his chin. "I have more I need to tell you."

"Speak freely."

"In my fourth year of schooling, there was a ball. I told you about it. It was called the Yule Ball, and everyone in my year and above was allowed to attend. Younger students could as well, if they were asked by someone older.

"Rosmir and I both attended. She was on the arm of our friend Neville, while I attended with a man named Viktor Krum. He mangled my name horrifically. I told you my name in that other world, right?"

Legolas nodded, "Hermione Jean Granger."

The brunette shivered at his pronunciation of her name. He made it seem like music or poetry.

"Right, well…he said 'Herm-own-ninny.' But that's beside the point." She took a deep, shaky breath. "He was the first boy I ever kissed. It wasn't like…_that_."

"The incident on our way here, you mean?" Even he seemed nervous to talk about their kiss.

"Yes, exactly," she said. "Then in my sixth year, this last year, I made the mistake of asking a young man named Cormac McLaggen to a party. It was a precursor to the winter holidays, held by a teacher who, unfortunately, used mistletoe as one of his decorations." She shivered harder than before at the memory. "Let's just finish this tale off by saying that Cormac spent the rest of the night completely alone after trying to attach to my face like one of the Giant Squid's tentacles."

Legolas's nose wrinkled at the thought. She'd explained that the Giant Squid was not exactly one of the best parts of Hogwarts life.

Gently pulling her right hand from under his on the wall, she reached up and cupped his cheek with her left, the right resting flat against his chest. Somehow, she found courage in the fact that she could bare her soul to him without being judged.

"How about this; next time you want to kiss me, at least give me some sort of warning, because I was completely unprepared for that," she whispered, her fingertips lightly caressing his earlobe.

"Agreed." His voice trembled, just a bit. He was as nervous as she was. There was nothing that could hide that.

Moving incredibly slowly, she slid her hand around his neck, gently pulling his head to her level. His hands found her waist, lifting her up just a little. She rested her currently-bare toes on top of his boots, arching her feet up to reach his lips.

Her eyes slid closed as she kissed him with a fervor that Harry and Ron would never believe she could apply to anything other than books. Legolas was gentle with her, but he wasn't afraid he would break her. That had been Viktor's whole problem.

They both knew where this would lead. Neither of them cared. All that mattered was that they made the most of any time they had, all to themselves, before she was ripped away from him.

* * *

><p>Thank the Valar and Merlin both that neither of them really needed to sleep. Hermione only ever slept now if she was overly wearied, which was once a week. Without the extra time in the night, she'd never get back to being presentable before someone stumbled upon them.<p>

"Hermione," Legolas began. He wore only his leggings and boots; he still had not replaced his tunic. She placed a fingertip to his lips.

"Don't say anything," she muttered, kissing his cheek. "It's all right."

"Are you sure this is what you wanted?"

"It was perfect. How could I have asked for more?" She pulled her tunic over her head, pulling it tight before she picked up her quiver.

"I confess to feeling the same," he whispered, his lips brushing her ear.

Hermione laughed. "I would hope so." She strapped the quiver to her back and picked up his tunic. It had landed in the drainage water. She laughed and dried it with her wand before throwing it at him.

* * *

><p><strong>I had intended to include more, but since my stupid Word chopped it off, I'm going to write a completely filler chapter. I hate Microsoft Word sometimes...<strong>

**Before any of you can comment, yes, they...enjoyed each other.**

**- xHx**


	22. You're Late

**I've made a video trailer for this story, and I encourage all of my faithful readers to do the same. I am glad that you all think I'm a great writer, but I'm seriously lacking in the publicity department. I would really love more readers, even those that don't have an account here. The more readers, the better, in my opinion.**

**.com/watch?v=b5QaeuoVcRg**

**On that note, it's time for the next chapter to begin.**

**-xHx**

* * *

><p>Hermione stood upon the wall with her eyes locked on the horizon as the sun began to rise, leaning gently on the stone, her wand in her right hand. Legolas found her like this, with golden sunlight igniting her features. She had been there for an hour, contemplating, and when the first rays of golden sunlight pierced the sky she'd made her choice.<p>

"What thoughts keep you here, silent and staring?" he whispered, placing a hand upon her back.

"I was waiting for you," she replied with a gentle smile, glancing from the horizon to his face. "I made a choice."

"What choice is that, Hísiven?"

She did not say a word in reply. Instead, she looped her hands behind her head and removed the pendant Dumbledore had left for her; the one Legolas himself had brought to Imladris when she was a baby. She held it gently in her right hand, looking at the delicate sparkle of the diamonds, the soft gleam of the silver. With the palest of smiles, she took his right hand in her left, holding it open palm up. She coiled the mithril chain on his palm and laid the pendant across it.

"So long as this remains in your possession, there is no doubt that I will return to you. I do not know how or when, but I will return." She sighed, leaning against the stone. "When I do leave this world, there is no doubt in my mind that I will miss you, and I know you will miss me. I leave this with you so you have something to keep me in your thoughts."

"I have more than enough," he said in a whisper.

"Take it. Aragorn will arrive by noon."

* * *

><p>Of course, the Man of their company took longer than she had expected. It seemed that in her dawn musings of the future, she had misinterpreted the location of the sun in the sky. If she had a watch with her, of course, she'd know exactly what time it was. She guessed that her watch would have said that it was three in the afternoon. The girl leaned against a pillar as Aragorn rode into the keep.<p>

"Where is he?" Gimli shouted as he shoved through the crowd. "Where is he? Get out of way! I'm gonna kill him!" As the Dwarf broke through the crowd, Aragorn dismounted the stallion. "You are the luckiest, uncanniest, and the most reckless man I ever knew!" Gimli hugged Aragorn around his middle. "Bless you, laddie!"

Aragorn asked him something, and he nodded toward the door through which Hermione knew the king was. He would have to walk past her.

She started walking, a little smirk on her face as she came to stand by Legolas. A faint glint of the chain she had given him was visible.

"_You're late,"_ he said as Aragorn stopped in front of them. "You look terrible."

"Of course he does, Legolas," Hermione said. "He fell off of a cliff, nearly drowned, and had to ride for two days straight to get here."

Aragorn laughed and put a hand on each Elf's shoulder. Legolas then pulled out the Evenstar pendant and handed it to Aragorn.

"_Thank you,"_ the Man replied.

* * *

><p>Théoden obviously hated to think of women as equal. She'd been kicked out of the room as Aragorn filled the king in on what they needed to know, but she followed them to the causeway.<p>

"We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever breached the Deeping Wall, or set foot inside the Hornburg!"

"Aragorn," she said, leaning against the gate beside Gimli, "what exactly did you see?"

Legolas, Aragorn, and Théoden all looked at her with appraising eyes, but she only stared at Aragorn with a knowing gaze. She knew he had left something out of the original description, and he knew that she would tell Legolas what she had seen if he did not tell Théoden.

"The army was not just Uruks. At the lead of their column, four men and one woman walked, bearing a different crest than the White Hand of Saruman. A skull with its mouth open, a serpent emerging between its teeth," Aragorn said, looking at Théoden.

"What symbol is that?" Legolas asked of Hermione.

"That is the symbol of an evil I had hoped would remain in the realm I left. It is known as the Dark Mark. Its creator was once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, Junior, but he denounced that name in favor of an incomplete acronym. He used almost all of the letters in his name, save three. He became Lord Voldemort. His followers call themselves Death Eaters. They are only easy to spot when they wear something with short sleeves. The Dark Mark is tattooed on the inside of their left arm and enchanted, so that it will move and at their master's touch upon one, all will be summoned to his location. In addition, should one of his followers touch their fingertip to it, he will know and be summoned to their location." She shakes her head. "If I know history, he has sent his best lieutenant, Bellatrix Lestrange. She is an expert at the Torture Curse."

"Curses, enchantments, magical tattoos…are you sure of this?" Théoden, of course, would not believe.

"It is because of them that I must be there to fight."

"You will go into the caves with the other women and the children. This is not up for discussion."

"So you want your people to be slaughtered? Without me on that field, we will all die. They will break into the caves through the stone that forms them and slaughter your people. Would you like to be tortured repeatedly, feeling like an axe is slicing into your body but it won't kill you, because I sure wouldn't." Hermione turned and stalked away.

* * *

><p>Hermione knew she had no choice as she ran through the castle, trying to find an empty room.<p>

_Finally¸_ she thought, bursting through a door that was already cracked open. She drew her wand and muttered a short spell, sweeping from the top left corner to the bottom right corner of the door. A soft _click_ and a quiet _whoosh_ were heard, and she tested the door, leaning against it. Nothing would open it unless she spoke the counter-curse.

She opened the beaded bag and began pulling supplies from its depths. She propped a mirror against the wall, unrolled a bed-piece in the corner, and, removing her weapons, she laid down, closing her eyes to rest. Théoden was unlikely to ever let her fight, no matter what Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli said about her. Chauvinist pig. In the wizarding world, women were on par with women. Discrimination was not based upon skin, gender, or sexual orientation. It was based solely on blood purity.

"The king needs a crash course in the toughness and strength-of-will of women,"she thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Angry Hermione has made her presence known. I don't think Théoden's going to be in her good graces for a very long time…<strong>

**- xHx**


	23. A Small Reunion

**Why, oh why, is my only recourse for the extended edition of The Two Towers on xfinity on demand? Why do I only possess the theatrical releases of all three for myself?**

**Don't answer that.**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>Hermione rolled off of the thin mat at the sound of the horn. She'd fallen asleep. It was no more than a catnap, but it was obviously something she had needed.<p>

"Do people have no respect for sleep in this world?" she muttered, strapping on her weaponry and tucking the beaded bag behind her mirror. She then took a moment to look over her reflection.

Bright blue eyes stared back at her, framed by thick, dark lashes. Her unassuming facial features from before were enhanced and defined. Ivory skin now gleamed like pearl, unruly, light brown curls now framed her face calmly, their color now closer to Cúron's mane. Her faint hourglass shape was flattered by the cut of her clothes. Now all she had to do was wait until people were readying themselves to fight, taking their places upon the wall.

* * *

><p><em>Can they take any longer?<em> Hermione thought, rubbing her eyes as she leaned against the wall beside the door. It had been roughly an hour and a half since she'd heard the Elvish horn.

Finally, she heard the Men and Elves who would fight rushing through the halls toward the wall. She raised her wand, muttered the five-word spell to lift the enchanted lock she had placed upon the door, and walked out, trying very hard to blend in.

"Hísiven?"

She spun around.

"Hítharn!"

The two shared a hug. Harry – Hítharn, as he was known by the Elves – wore full armor, a sword at one hip, his wand at the other, and a bow in his left hand.

"Lord Elrond sent me to help you and everyone else here," Harry said.

"So you have mended?"

"That I have," he replied. "Lord Elrond had no solution for why I could not cross the boundary."

"It's got something to do with that scar of yours."

The two wand-bearers set off then, talking quietly, each walking and knowing their destination without really knowing it until they reached it.

* * *

><p>There was a gap at the wall, enough for three to fit in…or so they thought until they came up to the place. Legolas and Gimli stood there, side by side.<p>

"You could have picked a better spot," Gimli was saying, trying to jump and see the field below them.

"He probably could have, but I don't think he would have, Gimli," Hermione said in place of a greeting.

"Hísiven, what are you doing here? Éowyn said you were to be sent into the caves," Legolas said.

"I said I would fight, and as such I will fight. No one tells me what I can and cannot do." A smirk lit her face. "Not even a king."

"You are more reckless than Aragorn," Gimli said.

"I know that."

The army marched toward them with a sort of disturbing pageantry. Among them, Hermione could easily see the wild, untamable locks that told her Bellatrix Lestrange was among their number. She took a deep breath to steady herself and glanced at Legolas.

"_Do you fear them?"_ she whispered, placing a hand upon his wrist lightly.

"_I fear for you,"_ he replied.

Aragorn came up behind them then.

"Well, lad," Gimli said, looking up, "whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night."

"Your friends are with you, Aragorn," Legolas said as lightning lit up his face.

"Let's hope they last the night."

_Such a pessimistic Dwarf!_ Hermione thought.

The army drew ever closer. The girl took another deep breath.

"_Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none!"_ Aragorn shouted.

The Uruks began roaring.

"What's happening out there?" Gimli shouted.

"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas joked. "Or would you like me to find you a box?"

Hermione, Gimli, and Harry all laughed, but hers was more from shock. She'd had no idea that Legolas could even be humorous, let alone in the face of such an unlikely feat.

Bellatrix's laugh rang out over the roaring of the Uruks. She held her crooked wand high.

An arrow flew.

Hermione looked around for whoever had released before the commands had came.

A large Uruk, beside Bellatrix and the four men upon the rock that parted the opposing army, roared, his blade aimed halfway skyward but toward Helm's Deep.

"Charge!" Bellatrix shouted, laughing and leaping.

"_Prepare to fire!"_ Aragorn shouted. Hermione lifted her bow and drew an arrow from her quiver. She had personalized them with a small red ribbon, just below the feathers.

"_Their armor is weak at the neck, and beneath the arm,"_ Legolas said.

"_Release arrows!"_

She released the string watching as her arrow connected. But she did not see where it landed. She simply kept firing.

"_Ladders!"_

"Good!"

A ladder landed near them. Hermione and Harry acted far faster than anyone else. He kicked the ladder down as she screamed, "_Incendio!_" The ladder burst into flames along with the five Uruk-hai already climbing it. She spared a moment for a self-congratulatory smirk before pulling free Gred and Forge.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>I tried to keep everything the same. I just had to have Hermione and Harry destroy one of the ladders. I planned that from the beginning.<strong>

**Now you have part of the reason I included Harry. He is the only one who will really know that there's anything between Hermione and Legolas.**

**Any suggestions or ideas for who is included in the group of four male Death Eaters? I've got a lot of ideas. Yaxley, Dolohov, Greyback, Rodolphus, Nott, Adult-Crabbe, Adult-Goyle, maybe Draco Malfoy. Your thoughts?**

**- xHx**


	24. Blood Stains

**Okay, now I'm going to get serious. Those who review get a small preview of what is to come. I'll tell you what's going to happen next. Since no one gave me any ideas of which Death Eaters to include, I have put in the ones I see fit to use.**

**Thank you. Hope you enjoy it.**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>Bellatrix stood on the large rock with the four men the Dark Lord had sent with her, storm-gray eyes locked on the blazing ladder as it fell, crushing the soldiers. Her wand-hand twitched.<p>

"Bella," Rodolphus said, leaning close to his wife, "do we know who caused that?"

"Not yet," she replied, "but we will find out soon enough."

The woman raised her wand and shouted a spell.

* * *

><p>Hermione froze as she watched the aquamarine jet of light soar up into the clouds. Harry, Gimli, and Legolas continued fighting around her.<p>

"Legolas!" Gimli shouted. She barely heard him. "Two already!"

"I'm on seventeen!" the Elf shouted by way of reply. But she did not care as she watched the clouds distort, the greenish skull and snake forming from them.

An Uruk roared in her ear, raising its blade and drawing her from her reverie. She blocked the black tool with Gred (the shorter of the two blades) in her left hand, and struck out with Forge, slicing the Uruk's windpipe.

Harry didn't seem to be having the best time with his battle. He was far more inexperienced with this sort of fighting and couldn't get the timing right. She wasn't sure, but she had a really bad feeling.

Hermione then turned to look at Legolas, who was now standing atop the wall in front of a ladder, instantly killing each and every Uruk that tried to pass him.

She began slashing and spinning with her knives, cutting through the throat of any Uruk that dared try to pass her. As her blades sliced through flesh and bone, she felt more alive than ever. She usually hated violence, but this was different. Fighting for such a noble cause was different.

She then leapt up onto the wall, stowing one knife in its sheath on her back and pulling free her wand. Using every spell she knew, she immobilized, levitated, and otherwise incapacitated the Uruk-hai on the field below her, trusting that Harry and the other soldiers would guard her back. Gimli stood near her, at the top of a ladder, no less, and counted off each Uruk that he struck down.

It was then that she noticed that Harry was nowhere to be seen, and a white sparkling light came into her line of view – right below her. She tried to take aim with her wand, tried to immobilize him, but each spell missed.

"_Bring him down, Legolas!"_ Aragorn shouted from her right. She gave up the attempt, running along the wall now, trying to get away. He was heading straight for the drainage grate. _"Kill him! Kill him!"_

Legolas fired twice before the torch-bearing Uruk leapt into the drainage hole.

And the world seemed to explode.

Stone fragments flew everywhere. Bodies flew through the air. She finally saw Harry again, though he was just a headless corpse. She scrambled away from the body, her eyes wide open.

_I am going to need years of therapy to forget that,_ she thought, easing herself to her feet.

* * *

><p>Bellatrix grinned, watching the bodies and chunks of stone flying through the air. This sort of carnage was just her taste.<p>

"Let's go," she said, looking at her four soldiers.

"Shouldn't we wait a little while longer?"

"Either you are at my side and we go now, Rodolphus, or you are a traitor to the Dark Lord," she said.

"You are still my wife, Bella."

"Then your wife is right, Rodolphus," Nott said, coming up on the woman's other side. "It is time for us to join the fray."

Bellatrix, Yaxley, Nott, and Goyle leapt from the huge rock upon which they stood, running through the army without a shred of hesitation. Rodolphus, however, remained where he was for a minute longer than he needed to before following his wife through the Uruk-hai as they crushed toward the gap in the stone wall.

* * *

><p>Hermione looked out at the raised stone in the field beyond the broken wall. No one stood there now. The Death Eaters had joined the battle. She pulled her wand from under the Uruk that had fallen from the explosion in the wall beside her and started running down the stairs as the army began to crush through the gap.<p>

"Brace the gate!" she heard Théoden call over the noise.

_I should have turned that damned thing to stone like I suggested to Legolas!_ she thought, frowning.

"Aragorn!"

Gimli's voice drew her attention as he vaulted himself into the gap from the top of the wall. She shook her head slightly and leapt for the stairs just as Gimli fell under the water.

"_Sectumsempra! Stupefy! Impedimenta! Immobulus! Locomotor Mortis! Petrificus Totalus!"_ These spells were her shouts. Each spell struck its mark, spilling an Uruk's ink-like blood, freezing six of them in place, and others to fall flat on their faces.

"_Charge!"_ Aragorn shouted. He, and the other Elves, began running at the Uruk-hai.

"Look what we have here."

_Please let me be imagining that voice. Please,_ Hermione thought before she turned.

Bellatrix stood there, her wand raised. Everyone froze, except for Hermione, Bellatrix, and the four male Death Eaters with her.

"A little Elf-girl who thinks she has a right to a wand. _Crucio!_"

Hermione leapt out of the path of the red streak of light. It struck an Uruk in the face, which began slowly moving.

"I have more right to it than you do, bitch! _Sectumsempra!_"

The spell failed to reach its mark, of course.

_Great, _she thought. _Just great. I have to fight the most notorious bitch among the ranks of the Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort's favorite lieutenant, and her husband, and three other idiots? And I have to do it alone?_

Just then, the Time Isolation Charm ended. Aragorn and the Elves clashed with the Uruk-hai, while the one struck by the Torture Curse screamed a piteous shriek of pain.

"**Hísiven!"**

She heard Legolas's scream over the sound of the battle as she and the five Death Eaters engaged in a battle that filled the night with a multihued glow. She willed him to fight with the others, to stay back, but she knew it wasn't likely to happen.

"_Incarcerous!"_ she finally screamed. Instead of the rope she had expected, a glittering white cage erupted from the ground around Rodolphus Lestrange as his wand fell to the ground beyond the barrier.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Hermione dodged the spell, sent her way by Yaxley, by a hair's breadth, and as he was distracted, a green-fletched arrow seemed to burst from his chest. Hermione spun.

"Legolas!"

Bellatrix laughed.

Hermione whipped back to face the woman.

The crooked wand was raised.

Hermione sprinted, knife-blade flashing

"_Avada Ke –"_

Bellatrix never finished the spell, instead emitting an ear-splitting, shrill, wild howl of pain as Hermione's knife sliced through her wrist. Her wand-hand thumped to the ground and her wrist began spouting a vicious fountain of blood.

"Not him, you bitch," Hermione said, raising the knife again. This time, she ran by Bellatrix so quickly she blurred.

The woman's hand felt the base of her neck, just before the blood loss from her wrist and the wound through her neck ended her life in Middle-earth.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the cliffhanger, I just needed to use it just this once. Of course, some of you do deserve it. Maybe I'm just a mega-nerd, but I really would've liked the help with the Death Eaters.<strong>

**Does anyone think I need to up the rating for using the word "bitch" three times?**

**This was planned from the beginning to give Hermione the satisfaction of doing something Molly will do later on. Legolas killing Yaxley was more spur-of-the-moment, but was also for my own reasons. I'm not going to explain it, either.**

**Thank you for reading. We're almost to the end of part 1 of the saga. I do plan to write more.**

**- xHx**


	25. Ni ú firen

**Hermione is starting to get fiercer and far more violent. There are two of the people from Hogwarts left alive, and three from the Death Eaters. More deaths are in store.**

**This is NOT the final chapter. There is more.**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>Ginny, Merry, and Pippin lounged at the edge of the clearing, observing the Ents. Ginny was anxious to find out what their solution to the problem would be. She had her wand out and was rapping it lightly on her right thigh as she waited.<p>

Finally, Treebeard turned around. She stood.

"The Ents cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done," he said.

"How can that be your decision?" Merry and Ginny both shouted.

"This is not our war," Treebeard said, trying to placate both Hobbit and witch.

"But you're part of this world! Aren't you?"

Ginny put a hand on Merry's shoulder, taking an additional step forward. "Treebeard, please. Even if you do not fight, you will either be killed or enslaved. Sauron does not care what he destroys."

"You are young and brave, Master Merry and young Rosmir. But your part in this tale is over. Go back to your home."

She shook her head and held in the fury that tried to boil out of her as she helped Merry and Pippin prepare to journey back to the Shire.

"Maybe Treebeard's right," Pippin said to his best friend. "We don't belong here, Merry. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire. Maybe we should go home."

Merry was depressed by the thought of leaving without doing anything. "The fires of Isengard will spread and the woods of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn. And," he paused, glancing from Pippin to Ginny and back again. "And all that was once green and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin."

"At least you two can painlessly return home. I can only leave this world for home one way, and that is by death."

The two Hobbits looked at each other and back at their new, dearest friend. "Surely there are other ways?" Pippin said. "There has to be a fallback plan."

"If there is, I know nothing of it, but I have to die to return." Ginny sighed, scratching at her scalp. "I know one thing, though. Soon as I find some place to bathe, I'm taking the opportunity."

* * *

><p>"Aragorn! Fall back to the Keep! Get your men out of there!"<p>

Hermione did not spare a glance for Aragorn as she kept Goyle and Nott distracted. All three now bore the wounds of their fight. Hermione's shoulder bled; Goyle was suffering a split lip, a black eye, and a severed right arm; and Nott was close to death with a high number of wounds.

"_Hísiven, to the Keep!"_

"_I must fight to the death, Aragorn!"_ She did not turn as she shouted the reply.

The Death Eaters' attention was grabbed by Gimli's voice from behind her, and both wands rose as he shouted, "What are you doing? What are you stopping for?" Hermione didn't need to look to know that Legolas was towing Gimli from the field and they aimed for him.

"No! _Immobulus!_"

Both Death Eaters froze, and she stowed her wand, pulling her bow from her back and firing three arrows. Each struck its mark; Nott, Goyle, and then Rodolphus Lestrange, and she began running. Not to the Keep, but toward the stairs. Haldir needed her help.

And in a single second, she knew there was nothing for it.

She watched, feeling helpless, as an Uruk dug his black blade into Haldir's back. She could do nothing to save him, but she could get her own sort of revenge. She notched an arrow, drew back, and released, watching with morbid satisfaction as the arrow met its mark, buried itself deep in the Uruk's windpipe. Only then did she turn and run for the Keep.

* * *

><p>Ginny, Merry, and Pippin rode upon Treebeard's branches, watching the scenery from so far above.<p>

"I will leave you at the western borders of the forest. You can make your way north to your homeland from there," the Ent said.

They continued for a short while without a word, when Pippin suddenly said, "Wait!" Ginny looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "Stop! Stop! Turn around. Turn around. Take us south."

"South?" Ginny muttered. "But that would take us past Isengard, Pip."

"Yes. Exactly. If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect," Pippin said.

"That doesn't make sense to me. But then, you are very small. Perhaps you're right," Treebeard said. He paused to take a breath. "South it is, then. Hold on, little Shirelings. I always like going south. Somehow it feels like going downhill." As he spoke he turned, walking south.

Ginny raised her hand toward Pippin, who was perched a foot above where she sat, and he clapped his hand to hers. "That is a great idea."

"Are you mad?" Merry said. "We'll be caught!"

"No, we won't. Not this time," Pippin said.

"Especially not if I can help it," Ginny added, twirling her wand lightly and tapping it three times on her left thigh.

* * *

><p><strong>I do apologize. The Extended Edition of The Two Towers is no longer available on xfinity OnDemand. I'm starting to lose track of the story and lose sight of my muse.<strong>

**Other than that, the story seems to be progressing well. As with the previous chapter, the reviewers will get a reward in the form of a short excerpt from Chapter One of part 2 of this story. I intend to put it up as soon as this story is over. At least one more chapter left of this part, possibly two.**

**Sorry for the shortness of it as well.**

**- xHx**


	26. Le melin

**I have decided to alter the flow of the story. This goes off on a tangent, starting with Neville Longbottom.**

**I thoroughly hope you enjoy the way I'm leading this tale.**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p>Neville followed the four Gryffindor students, dressed in clothes that he couldn't name, to the headmaster's office. Sadly, the gargoyle would not let him past without the last password he had been given, which Neville did not know. So he simply settled down beside the stone figure, waiting for someone to walk by.<p>

Only eight minutes later, Professor McGonagall walked by.

"Professor," Neville shouted as he jumped up.

"What is it, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went up to the headmaster's office, and they haven't come down yet. I'm worried," he said. "Who knows what could've happened?"

"I'm sure they're all right," Minerva said, walking to the gargoyle. "Sugar quills."

The gargoyle leapt aside, and the student and teacher walked up the stairs together.

Of course, Minerva was unprepared for the sight she found. Four students wounded and slowly oozing blood, despite the fact that they were healing quite quickly, and one who seemed to be struggling for breath, even in her unconscious state. Neville, unfortunately, could not handle it and passed out against the doorframe.

"Minerva."

The woman's eyes found the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.

"Yes, Albus?"

"They will be fine. Call Madame Pomfrey and tell her of this situation. She is to let them wake on their own," he said, blue eyes twinkling. "Also, contact Arthur and tell him to hasten the project he was given."

"Certainly, Albus…but, why has this happened?"

"Miss Granger has finally been enlightened to her true destiny, her true fate. It would not surprise me if she has also found happiness."

"You mean..?"

"Yes, that is what I mean, Minerva. Hermione Granger will find that her future is not in this world, that her fate lies in Valinor and her destiny in Mirkwood."

"I thought you said –?"

"Yes, her family is in Imladris, but her destiny lies with an Elf of Mirkwood."

Minerva nodded and raised her wand, whispering a spell. One tabby-cat Patronus burst from its tip, running to locate Madame Pomfrey.

"Oh, did Mr. Longbottom follow them here?"

"Yes he did, Albus. I think he's passed out from the shock of seeing five of his friends in this state," Minerva said.

"Ah," the portrait replied.

* * *

><p>When Ginny woke up, she was face-to-face with Harry, who wore a silk scarf around his neck, which he tugged at every few seconds while he read the <em>Daily Prophet<em>.

"Hello, sleepy-head," he said while turning a page, green eyes meeting brown.

"I wasn't asleep," she replied, stretching and sitting up, her left hand rubbing roughly at her throat.

"I know that, but Madame Pomfrey doesn't. She's been pressing Ron, Luna, and I for information." He set aside the newspaper, tightened the scarf, and leaned forward. "We can't tell her."

Ginny looked at the bed to her direct right and saw Hermione Jean Granger, wearing a soft peach dressing gown. Her blue Elvish gown lay folded on the table at her bedside, and her arms folded tightly over her middle.

"She's been muttering in Sindarin since Luna woke up. Madame Pomfrey's been begging me for translations and what-not, but I only know what Lord Elrond taught me for the battle. Stuff like _dartho,__pendraith, herio_…simple Sindarin words and phrases, really," Harry said, shoving his blankets away.

"I might be able to understand it, but I'm not sure."

Just then, Hermione rolled onto her right side and muttered, _"Le melin."_

Ginny's eyebrows rose.

"That's one of the most common phrases," Harry said. "Followed immediately by _goheno nin_. Not sure what she means by either of them."

"Ah. So, Harry, what happened to you?" Ginny smiled, leaning back.

"Beheaded by an Uruk-hai during a nightmarish battle at Helm's Deep, the refuge of the people of Rohan," he replied, pulling the scarf from his neck to reveal a jagged pink scar around the base of his neck. Ginny could not help but gasp. "It's nothing. Luna got shot through the neck, one side to the other, clean through. She has two round scars on the sides of her neck." He traced tiny circles on his neck in demonstration. "How about you?"

"It's a long story."

* * *

><p>Treebeard was still moving south through the forest, and he quite literally would not stop talking. Ginny had taken to watching the west with her gift from Lady Galadriel, the Eye of Lúnirë. It was because of this that she did not see what lay ahead.<p>

"And those little family of field mice that climb up sometimes and they tickle me awfully. They're always trying to somewhere where they…"

They had passed the last full-height tree in the southern range of Fangorn Forest. Ginny very nearly dropped the gift.

"Bloody hell," she muttered, reminding herself of Ron.

"Many of these trees were my friends. Creatures I had known from nut and acorn," the Ent said.

"I'm sorry, Treebeard," Pippin said.

"They had voices of their own," Treebeard said, very softly, before his tone turned harsh. "Saruman. A wizard should know better! There is no curse in Elvish, Entish or the tongues of Men for this treachery." And then he roared.

The three heard a noise from the tree-line. Pippin turned. "Look! The trees! They're moving!"

"Where are they going?" Merry asked.

"They have business with the Orcs," the Ent said matter-of-factly. "My business is with Isengard tonight with a rock and stone."

"Yes," Merry said.

"Finally," Ginny muttered. "I've wanted to kick some Orc butt."

"Come, my friends. The Ents are going to war. It is likely that we go to our doom. Last march of the Ents," Treebeard said. "Rosmir…"

"Yes, Treebeard?" Ginny replied.

"Would mind so terribly if I handed you to another?"

"Not at all."

The Ent's large, knotted hand reached up. She clung to his finger as he swung her toward another, slightly smaller Ent.

"Rosmir, meet Oakwood," Treebeard said, settling the redhead on a branch. "He will take good care of you."

* * *

><p>Harry laughed. "Talking trees?"<p>

"They are not trees, Harry. The name of their race is Ent. They take offense to being called trees. What they are is the race of tree-herders. Shepherds of the forest," Ginny said, picking up a ribbon. "Oakwood is probably the youngest one of the race, since they lost the Ent-wives."

"What, are they dead?"

"No, just missing. But let me finish to the story!"

* * *

><p>One of the Ents who looked like a willow-tree battled with quite a number of creatures who flung flames at him. Ginny growled viciously and shouted, <em>"Incendio!"<em> setting flame to one of the offenders.

"Good, Rosmir! Keep that up!" Oakwood said as he kicked and stepped on the creatures.

"If I had a strap holding me down it'd be better. Whoa!" She barely caught herself on one of his branches, now dangling three stories above the earth.

"Break the dam!" Treebeard ordered. "Release the river!"

_Oh, crap,_ Ginny thought. _Just my luck that I lose my balance right before he orders that the field be flooded!_ She started swinging, trying to gain momentum as the river gushed.

"Ginny!" Pippin shouted.

"Don't worry about me, Pip! I told you, it'll be fine!" she hollered in reply. "Focus on your own fight!" And she lost her grip as a wave of water rushed under Oakwood. She screamed, but the sound was lost as she landed with a vicious splash.

"No!"

"Ginny!"

And she was under the water, rolling and pitching. She couldn't remember which way was up, north, south, east, or west. She tried to hold her breath, but when her back slammed into a wall in the caverns of Isengard the air in her lungs escaped in a rush of silvery bubbles. In a reflexive action, she tried to breathe, but only inhaled water. It hurt her throat. She closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>"You drowned, Ginny?"<p>

"Yeah, isn't that what it's called when you die underwater? Where's Madame Pomfrey?"

"She's probably at dinner."

"I'm thirsty. My throat hurts."

"I think it'll continue to hurt for the rest of your life. My neck bothers me a lot, so Madame Pomfrey enchanted the scarf to alleviate the discomfort." He tied the blue scarf over his neck, like an ascot.

* * *

><p>The hospital wing was dark when Hermione finally awoke. She clung to the memory, the sight of her friends around her, and of the blue eyes of her Elf prince, so filled with sorrow and longing.<p>

Finally, she had to face it and open her eyes. She pulled the covers tight around her and looked out the window at the round, full moon and spoke softly. _"Legolas, le velui a hael. Galo Anor erin râd lîn. Oltho vê."_ She smiled, laying back down and closing her eyes, to remember the last few days she spent with Legolas.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh-oh, cliffhanger! I seriously wanted to do this another way, but this is working incredibly for me. I love this idea so much that I don't care that I'm being mean!<strong>

**Hermione's little thing is in reference to a private joke that she and Legolas share that upon her return to Hogwarts, she will be forced to resume a natural sleep schedule – for humans, at least. "Legolas, you are lovely and wise. May the Sun shine upon your path. Sweet dreams."**

**I also realize that I kind of made errors in the canon. I'm going to completely ignore that.**

**I think this is the first time Hermione's only been active for less than one Microsoft Word page…ah, well. First time for everything, eh?**

**Just one more chapter for part one. Please, suggest titles for part two. "The Second Second War" kind of sounds stupid.**

**- xHx**


	27. Thus, with a kiss

**I realize this is a strange way to work my plot to its completion, but this is what has to be done. Hermione is not in a good mood. She's slightly depressed.**

**In spite of that, she intends to honor a promise, which will come to light in this chapter.**

**Thank you.**

**- xHx**

* * *

><p><em>Finally, she had to face it and open her eyes. She pulled the covers tight around her and looked out the window at the round, full moon and spoke softly. "Legolas, le velui a hael. Galo Anor erin râd lîn. Oltho vê." She smiled, laying back down and closing her eyes, to remember the last few days she spent with Legolas.<em>

* * *

><p>"Final count," Legolas said, "forty-two."<p>

"Forty-two? Oh," Gimli replied from where he sat on an Uruk's back, smoking, "that's not bad…for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on forty-_three_."

Hermione stood a small distance away from them, arms folded, a smirk on her features as she watched Legolas draw his bow and hit the corpse under Gimli.

"Forty-three," he said, his tone half-joking.

"He was already dead."

"He was twitching."

Hermione stepped in.

"Ahem," she said softly, her voice taunting. "Neither of you won the contest; I did, with a count of sixty-eight."

Gimli and Legolas stared at her. The Dwarf's expression was dumbfounded, while Legolas simply grinned. He was proud of her.

"I guess that's settled, then. Hísiven has bested us both," the Elf said. He looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Only the ones she killed without her magic count!" Gimli said.

"That is all I've counted, Gimli. With those counted toward my total, it would be almost two hundred."

* * *

><p>That afternoon, the friends were leaving Helm's Deep on horseback with a small number of Rohirrim and Théoden King. They knew their destination – Isengard. They sought the truth from Saruman, who seemed to know almost too much about Hermione. It was more of a matter of figuring out what he knew than one of importance. She knew who she was.<p>

"Hísiven," Legolas said, reaching out to touch her shoulder, "are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Legolas. Perfectly fine."

These words bore a different meaning for them. It meant she was nervous because there had been no hints of a dizzy spell since before the battle.

Things had been very weird involving Gimli and Aragorn since the battle's end, when she had disclosed her secret. Gandalf had already known, but Théoden, Éowyn, and Éomer, not to mention Gimli and Aragorn, had reacted as expected. Aragorn kept asking her if she felt secure with the choice she was forced to make, while Gimli just ignored the serious nature of her predicament.

Gandalf and Legolas were very supportive; the former kept offering up ideas as to how she might return, while the latter just wanted her to be happy with whatever choice she made. Hermione was finding it sickening. She knew he was trying to keep her happy, to keep her from worrying, but it only made it worse. Watching him pretend he'd be all right when she left made her worry more than it would if he'd admit the truth.

Finally, she decided to corner him, get him alone. She thought it'd be easy.

It wasn't, but she finally, _finally_, got him away from the rest of the group.

"Legolas," she began, toying with a leaf she'd caught in her hair, "why are you pretending you'll be perfectly happy after I'm forced back to the world I was raised in?"

"I am not pretending. What I am doing is practicing the act I will put forth when you have gone," he replied, touching her cheek faintly. "In absolute honesty, I will be sorrowful. And I will be hurting."

* * *

><p>Hermione rolled over in the hospital wing bed, biting down on her pillow to muffle her sobbing. The sorrow in Legolas's eyes had hurt her then, and remembering it now was even worse. She could not stop the tears as they flowed.<p>

A soft hand touched her shoulder, rubbing gently in comfort. The brunette looked up to meet wide, feminine blue eyes.

"Luna?"

The blonde smiled. "Who else would it be?" Her eyes now shone with infinite wisdom and suffering. A pair of scars, slightly off-kilter with each other, adorned either side of her neck.

"What happened to you?"

"An arrow through the neck, near the border of Gondor and Mordor," she said, fingering the round scar on the left of her neck. "You?"

Hermione looked up at the shining moon and smiled.

* * *

><p>As the party of riders approached the edge of Isengard, they heard a laughing shriek. It was Pippin, with Merry, on a broken wall around a flooded Isengard.<p>

"Sly little devils," Hermione muttered.

"Welcome," Merry said, standing up, "my lords, to Isengard!"

_Is he smoking?_ Hermione thought.

"You young rascals!" Gimli shouted. "A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you…feasting a-and smoking!"

Pippin leaned forward as he spoke. "We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts." Merry, leaning as well, blew a little smoke from his mouth.

"Where's Ginny?" she asked aloud.

Pippin's face fell slightly. "She fell into the water and never came up," he said. "We thought it best not to dwell on losing her and instead enjoy the spoils of our victory." He leaned forward again, smiling once more. "The salted pork is particularly good."

Gimli spoke again, seeming shocked. "Salted pork?"

Gandalf scoffed. "Hobbits."

"We're under orders from Treebeard, who has taken over management of Isengard."

* * *

><p>Hermione rode near Legolas, behind him, watching everything she saw intently. When the tallest tree-figure, assumed to be Treebeard, turned toward them, Hermione froze.<p>

"Young master Gandalf," the figure said. "I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone I can master. But there is a Wizard to manage here, locked in his tower."

"Oh, isn't that lovely?" Hermione said. Her voice seemed to startle the Ent.

"I thought the wind whispered of a grand return. It is a great pleasure to finally meet you, Hísiven Rhovanel, the purest heart born among the Elves in many years," he said.

"It is good to meet you as well, Treebeard," she replied.

Aragorn whispered something, to which Gandalf replied, "Be careful. Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous."

Gimli, violent as ever, threw in his opinion. "Well, let's just have his head and be done with it."

"No. We need him alive. We need him to talk."

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King," came the voice on the air, so like the one she had heard on the Pass of Caradhras, from somewhere out of sight, before the old wizard showed himself over the top of the tower, "and made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"

"We shall have peace," Théoden shouted. "We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace."

"Gibbets and crows? Dotard! What do you want, Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess. The key of Orthanc. Or perhaps the Keys of Barad-dur itself along with the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!"

"Your treachery has already cost many lives," Gandalf called. "Thousands more are at risk. But you can save them, Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel."

"So you have come here for information. I have some for you." He lifted the very same black smoky orb Hermione had seen when she had fallen under the spell of some sort of vision. "Something festers in the heart of Middle-Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the Great Eye has seen it." He lowered the orb. "Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon. You're all going to die."

Hermione drew out her wand, laying it across her right thigh, watching the wizard.

"But you know this, don't you, Gandalf?" the wizard continued. "You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile, crept from the shadows, will never be crowned king. Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those closest to him, those he professes to love. Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom? The path that you have set him on can only lead to death."

"You are lying, Saruman, and you know it! You know that something else stirs, a whispering sort of fate upon the wind! You have heard it!" Hermione moved closer to the tower, Orthanc. "It is the sort of thing that reshapes destiny itself in a slow but unyielding manner."

"Hísiven Rhovanel. I wondered when you would speak," the wizard said. "Just because you are surrounded by protectors doesn't mean I cannot touch you."

"I've heard enough!" Gimli said, quite loudly, before whispering to Legolas.

"You may have _heard_ enough, but you have not _seen_ enough," Saruman said.

And Hermione gasped in sudden pain. Her hand felt the shaft of an arrow protruding from her chest, buried in her heart. She glanced at the feathered end. Green. Saruman had done something Hermione had known was possible, but had not expected from the old wizard. He had used wind and matter manipulation to speed the arrow into her chest. An arrow from Legolas's quiver.

"Bastard," she muttered, blue eyes narrowed up at Saruman, before her grip on Cúron's reigns fell lax and she slid off of the black mare, into the water.

"Hísiven!"

"Hermione!"

The shouts of her name were muffled by the water, until Legolas pulled her out, holding her tightly.

"Hísiven, look at me. Please, look at me," he whispered, brushing her soaking wet hair away from her eyes, which opened slowly.

"Don't look at me like that, Legolas," she whispered, voice small, weak.

"Where's your bag?" he asked quietly.

"That won't help," she said. "Kiss me."

Tears slid from the inner corners of his blue, blue eyes, but he obliged. He kissed her lips tenderly, gently. "Not now," he whispered against her lips.

She laughed, smiling just a little, her lips shaping soundless words.

"_Thus, with a kiss, I die."_

* * *

><p>Luna stared open-mouthed at Hermione, who was now blushing.<p>

"If you say a single word to Ron or Harry, you will regret it."

"I know. I remember what you did to Boromir. I won't make the same mistake," the blonde said, pulling the brunette into a hug. "I won't say anything."

"We will tell them I was crushed by a boulder during the assault upon the Rohirric fortress of Helm's Deep. The wall exploded – it should be easy to make them believe it," Hermione said. "Now. Go back to your own bed."

Luna nodded and left the hospital wing.

* * *

><p>Legolas pulled the arrow from Hermione's still, ice-cold body, his hands trembling and covered in her blood. He had to try. He had to be strong, honor her while they could not see each other. But just because he had no choice but to pretend did not mean he would not grieve.<p>

"Remember her request, Legolas," Gandalf said.

The Elf nodded, lifting the lifeless form onto Cúron's back, laying her down. "I remember," he whispered. "May I now kill Saruman?"

* * *

><p><strong>Thus ends Part One!<strong>

**Do not fret, my darlings. The next part will begin soon!**

**Sincerely,**

**xHx**

**P.S., here is a link to part 2! .net/s/7971548/1/A_Diamond_Heart_Wild_Star_Part_Two**


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